A handful of Barrington athletes celebrated strong finishes at the USA National Fencing Championships in St. Louis, Mo., from June 28 to July 7.
The championships are arguably the largest …
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A handful of Barrington athletes celebrated strong finishes at the USA National Fencing Championships in St. Louis, Mo., from June 28 to July 7.
The championships are arguably the largest fencing tournament in the world with more than 4,000 athletes competing. Every fencer was required to prequalify for each of his or her selected events in the three fencing weapons—foil, epee and sabre—grouped by gender, age, and ability level.
The Rhode Island Fencing Academy & Club, located in East Providence, was well-represented at nationals in all weapon contests, though only foil and epee fencers secured top-eight medals.
RIFAC’s women’s foil team defeated the number one seed on its way to a second place silver in Senior Team Women’s Foil. Four of the club’s strongest and most experienced women fencers comprised the team, including Barrington's Anika Breker. Anika competed in the foil team category as a “B” rated fencer (ratings range from “A” at the highest to “E”), but she changed that two days later with a sixth place finish in Division I-A Women’s Foil, an accomplishment which earned her a rating increase to “A." In the Junior Women’s Foil (for fencers aged 19 years old and under), Anika faced a group of 225 fencers and finished 25th, a notable result for the 16-year-old.
Brian McDermott, another club member from Barrington, secured a 7th place finish in Division II Men’s Epee, a category comprised of 226 total fencers. Brian’s “D” rating improved to “C” with the strong finish. Out of medal contention but still achieving a significant result, Brian scored a 10th place victory out of 182 total athletes in Division III Men’s Epee.
Barrington's Emma Mueller competed in the Y-10 Women’s Epee event for girls ages 10 years old and under. Emma fought her way through pool rounds to snag a sixth place finish.
Barrington resident Alex Ripa is the owner and head coach of RIFAC. Other RIFAC coaches who supported the team at nationals included Jeff Mooney, Jimmy Whittle, and Max Hampton.