Kaneshige took fifth in the men's foil (photo courtesy
Gil Talbot).
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A total of six
Harvard fence took the strip at the USA Fencing Division I National
Championships at the Minneapolis Convention Center April 11-14. The
event featured over 1,000 athletes vying for National Champion
titles and positions on the 2014 Senior World Team over the course
of the four-day event.
Foil fencer Brian
Kaneshige finished just outside the podium with fifth in the
men's foil. The junior posted a 4-1 performance in pool play
with a plus-10 scoring index to rank seventh into the direct
elimination tables. After receiving a bye in round of 64, he
clashed with James Weiss in the table of 32. After a back-and-forth
bout, Kaneshige downed Weiss, 15-14, and went on to defeat Jeremy
Goldsteain, 15-12. The Maplewood, N.J., native's run was
halted in the quarterfinals by the tournament's second seed,
Michael Dudey, 15-7.
Kaneshige was joined in the foil tournament by senior Lucas
Lin and freshman Stephen
Mageras.
After a 2-3 showing in pool action, Lin seeded 31st into the
elimination table. The co-captain from White Plains, N.Y., was
upset by No. 34 Drew Johnston, 15-11, in his opening bout to finish
34th.
Mageras fenced his way to an undefeated 5-0 record in the pools
with a plus-16 scoring differential. As the top seed, the Darien,
Conn., local drew a bye in the opening bout. He bested John
Crumpler, 15-12, in the round of 34 before meeting 16th-ranked Max
Blitzer in the table of 16. Mageras was knocked out of the
elimination draw by Blitzer, 12-6, to finish in ninth place.
Senior Michael
Raynis and rookie Alexander
Eldeib fenced in the epee tournament. As the 35th ranked fencer
after a 3-2 performance in pools, Raynis downed Scott Rostal,
15-14, before dropping a 15-10 decision in the round of 34 to the
third seed Rob Rhea. Raynis, who hails from Chatsworth, Calif.,
took 29th while Eldeib turned in a 52nd-place finish.
Nina
van Loon represented the Crimson women at the championships.
The epeeist from Boulder, Colo., tallied 2-3 ledger in pools to
seed 35th into the direct eliminations. After defeating Amanda Han,
15-7, van Loon lost to third-seeded Anna van Brummen, 15-12, in the
table of 34 to take 30th.
