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Duke

FEN: Nollner Places Third at North American Cup

Nov 13, 2012

Durham, N.C. — Duke junior Dylan Nollner tied for third in the Division I men’s epee competition at the US Fencing North American Cup in Virginia Beach, Va., recording the top-three finish out of 264 entries at the national competition.

Nollner, a native of Ogden, Utah, edged Yeisser Ramirez 15-14 to advance to the semifinals of the North American Cup. Nollner and Ramirez were tied 14-14 before Nollner scored the winning touch to secure a semifinal bout against eventual champion Conor Shepard. Shepard would defeat Nollner 15-7, however, and move on to win the Division I men’s epee championship 15-11 over Jonathan Yergler.

Nollner, who in February qualified for the US Junior World Team after winning a silver at the U-20 Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City, received his A12 ranking for the performance.

Duke men’s saber Charles Copti claimed a top-40 finish in the Division I men’s saber field, taking 39th out of 148 entries. Fellow sabers Eugene Chung and Nick Carothers also competed and placed 88th and 117th, respectively.

The Blue Devils also sent women’s epee Isabella Barna, who placed tied for 74th out of 138 entries in the Division I women’s epee competition, and women’s foil Samantha Lee, who took 113th out of 114 in Division I women’s foil.

The third-place finish was just the latest in a run of success for Nollner, who returns for the 2013 season as Duke’s top epee. Nollner is coming off of a 2012 season in which he not only won the silver medal at the U-20 Junior Olympics, but was also Team USA’s top finisher at the Junior Fencing Championships in Moscow, Russia, and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year.

US Fencing North American Cup
November 9-12, 2012
Virginia Beach, Va.

DUKE RESULTS

Division I Men’s Epee (264 entries)
T-3. Dylan Nollner
230. Ted Cho

Division I Men’s Saber (148 entries)
39. Charles Copti
88. Eugene Chung
117. Nick Carothers

Division I Women’s Epee (138 entries)
T-74. Isabella Barna

Division I Women’s Foil (114 entries)
113. Samantha Lee