This past weekend the Pioneer Fencers went to the Rocky River Invitational in Rocky River, OH. This is a high school tournament that is open to any high school fencers in the area not limited by rating. Here are the highlights!
The day started with Men's Foil. James Vacca '26, Bryton Miller '26, Anthony Parker '27, and Chase Fortuna '27 competed. Anthony, Chase, and Bryton all finished their pool round with two wins and two losses. Chase finished with three wins and one loss. Going into the elimination round, Bryton and James had to fence each other to advance into the top 8. Bryton advanced into the next round where he faced the #1 seed from Michigan and did not advance into the semi-finals. Anthony was seeded 10th and faced the #7 seed but could not advance into the semi-finals. Chase advanced into the top 8, earning his varsity letter, and faced the #3 seed. Chase's opponent had to up his game to pull out the win. Though none of the boys made it into the medal round, they did well enough as a team that they tied for first overall in the team point standings.
Women's Epee was next with Tessa Lavi '26 and Maya Vaden '26 competing. Tessa went undefeated in the pool and Maya's only loss in the pool round was to Tessa. The two earned the first and second seed moving into elimination. Tessa had a commanding win against her semi-final opponent and Maya had a close but well fenced bout to advance into the final. The two Pios owned the finals with Tessa winning first and Maya winning second. Maya earned her varsity letter by advancing in her elimination rounds. The girls earned the win for the Women's Epee team.
Men's Saber was next on the day with Joey Chan '25, Bryton Miller, James Vacca, and Anthony Parker. This was the first saber tournament for Bryton, James, and Anthony. All fenced well in the pool round with Joey winning four of his five bouts, Bryton winning two of his four, James winning one of his four, and Anthony winning none. It was a great learning experience for the three who are starting their saber competitions. Bryton, James, and Anthony did not advance out of the first elimination round and Joey had a convincing victory in his first bout but was injured in his second bout and could not continue. Joey finished 5th overall.
Women's foil was next with Maria de Los Llanos Flecha '27 and Sehar Mahesh '25 competing. Both girls went undefeated in the pool round to secure the first and second seed going into the elimination round. Both girls fenced extremely well in the elimination round and faced each other in the final with Maria coming out on top, updating her national rating. The girls earned the win for the Women's Foil team and combined with the epee results, the girls took home the cup for Reserve!
The Men's epee was the last event of the day with Quincy Liu '26, Yunwoo Choi '26, Eric Lee '26, and Chase Fortuna '27 competing. Quincy, Yunwoo, and Eric earned four wins and two losses each in the pool round and Chase earned three wins and three losses. In Yunwoo's first bout he faced a D rated fencer from Shaker Heights who came out with long attacks and gained an early lead. Yunwoo fenced hard through the whole bout but could not bring up the score. Eric fenced a C rated fencer whom he beat in the pool round. His opponent was more careful this time and took Eric more seriously than before. Eric made some good points but could not come up with the win. Chase had to fence an opponent from River HS and came out to a commanding lead by scoring quick points on the arm and then extended the lead to move into the second round. There, he faced Quincy and the two had an epic bout where the score was close the entire time. The nine minutes expired with the score tied - when this happens the official determines who has priority. This allows the fencers to have one minute to score a sudden death touch to win the match. If no one scores the point, then the fencer with priority advances to the next round. The two went back and forth and with less than 10 seconds remaining Chase scored the winning touch to advance to the quarterfinal. Chase had to fence the same fencer he faced in his foil event. This was a closer match but his opponent had more competitive experience and used it against Chase. Chase took 8th and earned his national rating in epee.
Please congratulate these students when you see them next. The last tournament for winter season is Mar 2, 2025 and commemorates Dr. Anne Chapman, the teacher who ran the fencing program at Reserve from 1968 to 2000. We hope to see you there.
