USF Oktoberfence

Noah's most exciting tournament so far this year took place on October 10 at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

The day began with the Senior Foil event. Noah was looking good in his pool bouts, winning three and losing a close one with a score of 3-4. This proved good enough to earn the fifth seed and a first-round bye going into the elimination round. The four fencers seeded above him were all rated fencers.

His round-of-sixteen match was against the number 12 seed. Noah survived a close duel with a 15-14 score. His next match was against the number-four, rated fencer. Noah was feeling good, leading 11-0 at the break.  But he fell apart in the second period and took a hard loss with a score of 14-15.

After a break for some food and to gain his composure, the Div 3 competition began. This event was initially a C2 event with 25 participants, however, one person withdrew at the last minute to bring the classification of the event down to a D1. It was still a strong event, with ten ranked fencers vying for gold.

Noah got off to a slow start in the pool round, winning two bouts, and losing two more. This earned him the 14th seed going in to the direct elimination round. He faced the 19th seed in the round of 32, winning easily, 15-4. His second encounter was with the number three seed. Noah dug deep and had an amazing bout--pulling out the win, 15-11. In the next round, he was to face the number six seed, another rated fencer. Working on the adrenaline from his win against the number 3 seed, Noah fought valiantly and pulled off another win!  15-10.  With this victory, Noah enters the semi-final and becomes eligible for his first USFA rating. (The top four fencers could earn ratings in this event.)

The semi final match was against the number two seed. Noah was on a roll. Winning 15-5.  On to the final, gold-medal bout.

In the gold-medal final, the number nine seed proved a valiant opponent in a fiercely-contested match. But Noah survived (15-13) winning his first senior/adult-event gold medal and earning a D rating!!!!  Go Noah!!!!!!

The finalists

Official Results

View full results on askfred.com.