Ward Wins Gold at North American Cup

1/16/2012 6:49:00 PM | Fencing

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - In her first USA Fencing event since 2010, Duke senior Becca Ward won the Division I Women's Saber title at the USFA North American Cup in her hometown of Portland, Ore., on Monday.

A two-time NCAA Champion and a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Ward defeated two-time Olympian Alejanda Benitez 15-12 in the gold medal bout in front of a standing room only crowd. Benitez was the only fencer in the entire tournament to score more than seven points against Ward, who went 12-0 and outscored her five second round opponents 75-28 to advance to the gold medal bout.

The defending NCAA Women's Saber Champion, Ward heads into her senior year as the most accomplished fencer in Duke history. With two NCAA titles, she is looking to become only the third women's fencer in NCAA history - and the first women's saber - to win three national championships.

Duke sent its entire travel roster to the North American, which serves as a platform for American fencers to accumulate points toward their national rank and spots on the US National Team. Ward's fellow saber Sean Cadley carded a 27^th-place finish out the 102 participants in the Division I Women's Saber pool, and freshman epee Sarah Collins took 23^rd out the 150-participant Division I Women's Epee pool and 12th the junior division.

On the men's side, junior Anthony Lin was the top finisher for the Duke men's saber squad, taking 31st in the Division I Men's Saber division. Sophomore Dylan Nollner placed 38th in Junior Men's Epee, and freshman Rod Shayesteh took 29th in Junior Men's Foil.

Complete are available at US Fencing's results page at the link below:
http://usfencingresults.com/2011-2012/NAC-JAN/

Division I Women's Saber (102 Participants)
1. Becca Ward
27. Sean Cadley
63. Kodia Baye-Cigna

Division I Women's Epee (150 Participants)
23. Sarah Collins
65. Emily D'Agostino

Division I Women's Foil (104 Participants)
T-49. Dana Rosen
82. Elizabeth Malcolm
89. Lily Shepard

Junior Women's Saber (79 Participants)
54. Kodia Baye-Cigna

Junior Women's Epee (109 Participants)
12. Sarah Collins

Junior Women's Foil (103 Participants)
43. Elizabeth Malcolm

Division I Men's Saber (143 Participants)
31. Anthony Lin
55. Eugene Chung
121. Nick Carothers

Division I Men's Epee (236 Participants)
56. Dylan Nollner
71. Tristan Jones
73. Jonathan Parker
74. Nathaniel DeLucia

Division I Men's Foil (169 Participants)
T-91. Andrew Hsu
97. Chris Sullivan
T-111. Rod Shayesteh

Junior Men's Saber (142 Participants)
70. Eugene Chung

Junior Men's Epee (152 Participants)
38. Dylan Nollner

Junior Men's Foil (149 Participants)
29. Rod Shayesteh
105. Andrew Hsu
107. Chris Sullivan

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