Check out this report from USA Fencing:
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – After competing at her first Senior World Championships in July, 18-year-old Chloe Fox-Gitomer (Portland, Ore.) started the 2018-19 season World Cup season with her best career result on the senior circuit, finishing seventh in Orléans, France on Saturday.
After a 5-1 finish in the pool rounds on Friday, the 2018 Senior Pan American bronze medalist advancing to Saturday’s competition with a 15-8 victory over Olga Hramova (BUL) in the preliminary table of 64.
Fox-Gitomer fenced 2014 Junior World bronze medalist Luca Laszlo (HUN) in the table of 64 on Saturday, building an 8-4 lead at the break and ending the bout with a 15-11 win.
In the next round, she led Malina Vongsavady (FRA), 13-10, late in the second period of their table of 32 bout before Vongsavady called an injury timeout. Vongsavady returned to competition, scoring two touches quickly, but Fox-Gitomer closed out the bout at 15-12.
Fencing in the 16 for the second time at a Senior World Cup this year, Fox-Gitomer took on Yaqi Shao (CHN), who was ranked No. 16 entering the tournament. Although the two bout remained tight throughout, Fox-Gitomer secured the upset, defeating the 2016 Asian Championships silver medalist by a point, 15-14, to fence for her first Senior World Cup medal.
In the quarters, Fox-Gitomer kept the start of the bout close against 2016 Olympic team silver medalist Alina Komashchuk (UKR) who led the bout by three at 8-5 going at the break. In the second period, however, Fox-Gitomer couldn’t overcome the 2013 World Team Champion who took the bout, 15-5.
The result jumped Fox-Gitomer up to No. 25 in the FIE World Rankings and No. 4 in the USA Fencing National Rolling Point Standings.
The top two fencers in the NRPS, 2016 Olympic team medalists Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) and Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.), both claimed top-16 results at the first World Cup of the season.
Zagunis, a two-time Olympic Champion who was fencing in just her third individual international tournament after giving birth to daughter Sunday last fall, made quick work of the pool rounds on Friday, going 6-0 to take the No. 1 seed and a bye into day two.
She continued to cruise in her first two DEs on Saturday, posting a 15-6 victory over Hengyu Yang (CHN) and a 15-7 win over Alejandra Benitez (VEN), 15-7.
However, in the 16, Zagunis drew World No. 3 and 2015 World bronze medalist Anna Marton (HUN). Zagunis came back from a 14-11 deficit to tie the bout, but lost the decisive touch, 15-14. Marton went on to win gold.