Taming the Bull

Noah had a wonderful time yesterday at the University of South Florida's "Da'Bull Touch" fencing tournament.

The day began early (after a two-hour drive) with the Senior Mixed Foil event. Noah started slow with two quick losses in the pools. His third bout, against a D-rated fencer, was a close one. After starting behind 0-2, Noah came back to tie the score. They then traded touches scoring : 2-3, 3-3, 3-4. Noah fought hard and tied the score, 4-4. His opponent was able to score the winning touch, though.  Noah won his last two pool bouts. First a 5-1 win against an unrated fencer, then a close victory (5-4) on a come-from-behind effort aided by a red card awarded to the other fencer.

Noah earned the number 15 seed going into the elimination bracket of this senior event. He faced an E-rated fencer in the first round. Noah started the encounter fairly strong edging ahead with a 7-5 score. His opponent put on the gas and scored three times in a row, taking the lead, 7-8.  Noah came back with a strong push to bring the score to 12-9 at the break. The other fencer scored first after the break, but Noah then scored three times to win the encounter 15-10.

Noah's next bout was against the number two seed. This guy was good; he jumped out to a 5-0 lead as Noah lost points rushing to attack. The first period ended with Noah down 2-9. In the second period, Noah was able to make a few more touches and also improved his defense, holding on to end the second period 6-14. Noah scored first in the third period, but could not avoid the inevitable, losing this one 7-15 to the fencer who eventually won the event.  Noah finished 16th in the senior mixed foil event.

After a break for lunch, the Div 3 Foil event began.  After the busy morning, Noah fenced well in the pools for this event. In fact, you might say he dominated this round of competition, winning his bouts 5-1, 5-1, 5-0, 5-1, 5-1, and 5-0. As a result he earned the number one seed and a first-round bye going into the elimination bracket. He won his first DE 15-5, and had a similarly easy time with his next opponent, winning 15-3. The semifinal match-up was a good one, with Noah winning 15-7.

The gold-medal bout was the toughest encounter Noah faced all day. The fencing was intense; the score stayed close, tied 7-7 at the break. Noah scored first after the break, but his opponent kept matching him to a score of 12-12. Noah was able to finish with three consecutive touches to win the Div 3 Foil event. With this win, Noah earned a C2015 rating.

Interesting tidbits:
- The semifinals of this event included three women and Noah.
- The top eight fencers in the Div 3 event were from eight different fencing clubs.