Curzon and Lombard Lead the Way for 'Cats on Day Two at Remenyik

Curzon and Lombard Lead the Way for 'Cats on Day Two at Remenyik

10/1/2017 9:50:00 PM | Women's Fencing

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – The Wildcats wrapped up the Remenyik Open with another day of exceptional fencing, capped off by a second-place finish from Maddy Curzon in sabre and a top-four finish from Ella Lombard in epee.

In the senior sabre competition, Curzon dominated her opposition, going 6-0 in pools and winning four direct elimination bouts before narrowly losing the final bout 15-14.

"I had a really good training week, that started off really strong in preparation for today," Curzon said. "I came in with loose expectations, just trying to fence my best and try stuff because this is the place to do it."

Lombard led the way in senior epee with a 5-1 record in pools and a run in the direct elimination bouts to the quarterfinal. Sophomore Pauline Hamilton also advanced to the quarterfinals and posted a prefect 6-0 record in pools.

"I was hanging in there and keeping my timing tight," Lombard said. "I came back a lot of times in bouts that I was behind in, and I was able to feed off my teammates' energy and stay focused."

Sacha Bazzal had a strong performance in sabre, going a spotless 5-0 in her pools. First year Jacqueline Hua and senior Emine Yucel also impressed in the first stage, going 5-1 and 4-1 respectively. Bazzal, Hua and Yucel joined first years Alexis Browne and Zhesi Zhaung in winning one direct elimation bout in the first round.

"It can be tough in the very first bouts at Northwestern for some of our fencers," Curzon said, speaking about the sabre squad. " But I see the passion, and it's going to keep the fire there for the next tournament coming up."

Adelle Berdichevsky and Katie Van Riper advanced to the Round of 16 in the epee event, with Berdichevsky recording five pool wins. Marta Amador Molina had five-win showing in pools as well. First year Anya Harkess recorded a direct elimination win in the first round, only to be defeated by fellow Wildcat Hamilton in the second round.

"We've been coming together as a squad, and that unity really showed this weekend," Lombard said of the epee group. "We were able to support each other through the good times and the bad and in the end come through with a really good showing for the first weekend of the season."

In the junior foil competition, sophomore Amy Jia finished in fifth after reaching the quarterfinals on top of a perfect 6-0 pool record. Alexandra Banin was an impressive 4-1 in pools and notched one direct elimination win.

The Wildcats are back in action in another individual competition at the October North American Cup in Anaheim, Calif. on Oct. 14-16.

RESULTS

Senior Epee, Pool Record, DE Record

T3. Ella Lombard, 5-1, 3-1
5. Pauline Hamilton, 6-0, 2-1
11. Adelle Berdichevsky, 5-1, 1-1
15. Katie Van Riper, 3-2, 1-1
17. Marta Amador Molina, 5-1, 0-1
22. Shirley Luong, 3-3, 0-1
28. Anya Harkness, 2-4, 1-1

Senior Sabre, Pool Record, DE Record

2. Maddy Curzon, 5-0, 4-1
9. Sacha Bazzal, 5-0, 1-1
10. Jacqeuline Hua, 5-1,
11. Emine Yucel, 4-1, 1-1
12. Alexis Browne, 4-2, 1-1
14. Zhesi Zhuang, 3-2, 1-1
17. Isabella Min, 5-1, 0-1
19. Abby Tartell, 3-2, 0-1
22. Ahsley Gomerman, 2-3, 0-1
26. Stefani Kahookele, 2-4, 0-1

Junior Foil, Pool Record, DE Record

T5. Amy Jia, 6-0, 2-1
10. Alexandra Banin, 4-1, 1-1