(note: we're in the process of converting headshots to a uniform size ... until then, we are left with this "scrapbook" look ...)
Congratulations go out to nearly a dozen varsity college fencers (11) who are among the 18 full members of the various U.S. Junior World Championship teams. Those 11 fencers (all of them '09 NCAA Chamionship qualifiers) will be competing with Team USA in both individual and team events at the 2009 Junior World Championships, to be held April 4-13, in Belfast, Ireland. Most of these fencers had their spots locked up for several weeks, with USA Fencing formally finaliizing and announcing the team on March 12.
The 11 collegians who will be heading to Belfast include four from Notre Dame: women's epeeist Courtney Hurley, men's foilist Gerek Meinhardt and the men's sabre duo of Barron Nydam and Avery Zuck. Penn State is the only other with multiple fencers on the Junior National teams: women's sabreist Monica Aksamit and men's foilist Miles Chamley-Watson.
Gerek Meinhardt (left)
The five other college fencers on these elite teams include Columbia women's foilist Nicole Ross, Harvard women's sabreist Carolina Vloka, Princeton women's epeeist Susannah Scanlan, St. John's men's sabreist Daryl Homer and Stanford men's epeeist Kevin Mo.
Susannah Scanlan (left)
There would have been an even dozen college fencers on the U.S. teams, but Duke freshman women's sabreist Becca Ward declined her spot – presumably in order to focus on her status as a full member of the U.S. National Team (she came home from the 2008 Olympics with bronze medals from the individual and team events). Meinhardt also competed in the '08 Olympics (as the only U.S. entry in men's foil), reaching the round-of-16 while becoming the youngest fencer (18 years old) ever to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games.
Hurley nearly competed in the '08 Olympics, but she was edged in qualifying by her sister Kelley Hurley (now a junior at Notre Dame) for the only women's epee spot in the Olympic field.
(Note: There also may be a handful of college fencers who will compete at the Junior World Championships for national teams from other countries – although fencers of that caliber typically don't opt to fence for U.S. colleges ... CF360 will pass on info. about such fencers, if applicable.)
Darryl Homer (left)
The 11 collegians on the 2009 Junior National teams include six on the men's squad (led by all threesabreists, plus two in foil and one epeeist) along with five from the women's size (two each in sabre and epee, one in foil). The 11 hail from eight different home states: California (3), New York (2), Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Four young members of Team USA will compete in both the junior and cadet (U-17) categories in Belfast: women's foilists Nzihgha Prescod and Lee Kiefer, women's sabreist Diamond Wheler and men's foilist Alexander Massialas, the won of former U.S. Olympian Greg Massialas (the club coach of many elite fencers, including Meinhardt).
Many of the cadet-level fencers will be competing on the college ranks in the next few years – CF360 will be tracking their college commitments (as well as college signings for other noteworthy fencers).
Here's a formal list, sorted by school, of the 11 college fencers named to the U.S. 2009 Junior World Championship teams:
Courtney Hurley (left)
Miles Chamley-Watson (left)
Columbia (1)
Kevin Mo (left)
And here's the complete list of fencers for the U.S. 2009 World Championship teams (junior and cadet):
U.S. 2009 Junior/Cadet World Championship Teams
