April 12, 2011
AMMAN, Jordan – Current Irish fencer’s James Kaull (Washington, D.C.), Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.) and Adriana Camacho (Puebla, Mexico), as well as incoming freshman Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.), each represented the Irish at the recent Junior World Championships (April 1-7) in Amman, Jordan. Kaull, Osier and Imboden competed with the U.S. national team, while Camacho took to the strip for her native Mexico.
Kaull, competing in epee, finished his individual tournament with a share of 24th place. The sophomore concluded pool play with a record of 4-1 and a +11 indicator to earn the 24th seed in direct elimination. He advanced through the round of 64 after defeating Denmark’s Patrick Jorgensen, 15-10, but then fell in the round of 32 to Hungary’s David Suto in overtime, 10-9.
“I had a game plan and I was about a second and a half from launching my attack and I’m about 85-90% sure that I would have won,” said Kaull. “I think my results don’t reflect how well I fenced. Fencing’s a sport where there’s a lot of variables that go into a tournament and I think I fenced a level like the other two World Cups I finalled in, but things kind of don’t work out sometimes.”
In team epee competition, Kaull and the U.S. squad finished in 11th place overall. The unit advanced past the round of 32 with a 45-12 win over Cyprus, moving on to face Great Britain in the round of 16. The American group held a 40-34 advantage over Great Britain heading into Kaull’s final bout, but he ran into the individual champion Philip Marsh and was unable to hold the lead as the team fell, 45-42.
In women’s sabre, Osier put together an excellent pool-play record, going 5-1 with a +13 indicator to earn the eighth seed in direct elimination. Once there, however, the sophomore fell to Russia’s Alexandra Shatalova, 15-8, in the round of 32. Although Osier found herself down only one touch going into the break, Shatalova went on a four-touch run to separate the score and eventually clinch the victory. Osier finished 19th individually.
In team competition, Osier and the U.S. squad finished in sixth place after earning a round of 16 win over Canada, 45-17. The American unit then fell in the quarterfinals to Ukraine, 45-43, to finish their tournament.
The final fencer representing Notre Dame on Team USA was Imboden, an incoming foilist for the Irish. Imboden put together a perfect 5-0 mark in pool play with a +17 to earn the eighth seed in direct elimination. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native then reached the round of 16 after defeating Mohamed Essam of Egypt (15-10) and Brendan Francis Cusack of Ireland (15-6) in the round of 64 and 32, respectively. The American’s tournament came to an end in the next round, however, as Russia’s Kirill Lichagin held on for a 15-14 victory.
Imboden and the U.S. men’s foil team then came back with a vengeance in team competition, defeating Italy (45-42) to capture the gold medal. The American team advanced to the title bout with wins over Ukraine (45-21) in the opening round, Korea (45-26) in the quarterfinals and France (45-43) in the semifinals. The gold medal win secured the U.S. men’s foil team as the only American men’s team to successfully defend a World title at either the junior or senior levels in Jordan.
Camacho, competing for Team Mexico at the Worlds, ended her tournament with a 31st-place finish in women’s foil. The freshman exited pool play with a 3-3 record and a -1 indicator to place 48th in direct elimination. She posted an opening round upset of 17th seeded Michala Cellerova of Slovakia, 15-8, to earn a spot in the round of 32, but was then upended by Russia’s Adelina Zagidullina, 15-11.
–ND–