Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsPrinceton freshman saberist Gracie Stone triumphed in the Junior World Cup fencing tournament in Udine, Italy over the weekend.
Stone won four of her six bouts in the round-robin portion of the event, and then won six straight 15-touch direct elimination bouts, never allowing more than 12 touches against, to claim the title. She defeated opponents from Hungary (two), Italy (two), France and the U.S. in the direct elimination round.
According to U.S. Fencing, Stone was ranked 10th in the country before the event, and her win could put her in contention for a berth on the U.S. team in the 2013 Junior World Championship in Porec, Croatia in April.
For complete results and more on the event, click here.
Princeton also had strong showings in international epee events. In Dijon, France, freshman Isabel Ford placed seventh after a direct-elimination run to the round of eight, defeated opponents from Switzerland, France and Italy in the bracket. Sophomore Katharine Holmes placed 10th, winning direct-elimination bouts against French and Italian opponents before bowing out in the round of 16. Freshman Anna Van Brummen placed 20th out of 103 competitors.
The France event came three weeks after the same Princeton fencers headed to Laupheim, Germany for the Junior Epee World Cup. Holmes advanced to the semifinals, placing third overall after defeating opponents from Switzerland, Russia, Spain and the U.S., the last being Isis Washington of St. John's. Ford won her round-of-64 match before being eliminated, and Van Brummen won twice in direct-elimination bouts before Washington defeated her in the Round of 16. Van Brummen finished ninth and Ford 31st of 123 competitors.
