Illinois Fencers Club Members Close the Year with Outstanding Results
Illinois Fencing Club member, Gabe Weininger along with USA teammates Nicholas Campbell-Kruger, Zachary Zeller, Esteban Sanchez, traveled to Chalon, France on November 23 and 24 to represent the United States in the Men's Cadet Epee fencing tournament. These outstanding young fencers competed against 10 teams from six different countries, defeating Italy and France in the final rounds to bring home the Gold Medal.
A few short weeks later, Gabe Weininger was the only IFC fencer to compete in the Cadet Men's Epee event of the North American Cup in Dallas, Texas on December 16th. Gabe had an outstanding day and medaled in the event, placing 7th in a field of 141 fencers from across the country.
Gabe is 16 years old and lives in Northbrook. Fencing for six years now, he was first attracted to the sport after watching Lindsay Lohan fence in the movie "The Parent Trap." Gabe says he particularly enjoys the mental challenge of fencing - besides needing speed and athleticism, fencing requires careful strategy and quick thinking. Gabe fences at Illinois Fencers Club, where he likes the class structure and enjoys the creative ideas coach Ina Harizanova uses to teach fencing to young fencers.
Several young IFC fencers participated in the Illinois Junior Olympic Qualifier on November 24 at Northwestern University. Seven of them qualified:
AJ Mikkelson - 1st (Cadet Men's Foil)
Zimo Zhu - 2d (Cadet Men's Epee)
David Vishny - 2nd (Junior Men's Epee)
Jakub Nowak - 2nd (Junior Men's Foil)
Isabelle Nasser - 2nd (Cadet Women's Epee)
Tony Coonrod - 3rd (Junior Men's Foil)
Nikita Jhangiani - 3rd (Cadet Women's Epee)
Ten of IFC's youngest fencers participated at the Regional Youth Circuit (RYC) tournament at Windy City Fencing Club in Chicago on November 30 to December 1. Geeta Jhangiani won first place in Y12 women's epee, AJ Mikkelson achieved a 2nd in Y14 men's foil and 3rd places in Y14 men's epee, Nikita Jhangiani finished in 2nd place in Y14 women's epee, while Isabelle Nasser came home with 3rd place in the same event. Nikita Jhangiani and her sister Geeta are from Vernon Hills. Niki is 14 and has been fencing for just two years. She says she enjoys fencing at IFC because "my coach spends the time to teach all aspects of the sport, not just the physical part but also the mental part of the game. Also, I like how Ina (Harizanova) gives us private lessons so that we can work on our individual strengths and weaknesses one on one." According to Niki, fencing “teaches [her] to be confident of [her]self and to always focus." Niki also enjoys helping her younger sister Geeta improve her technique, and the hard work is paying off, as Geeta just earned the gold medal at the RYC.
On December 1, the Illinois Fencers Club held its 2013 Fall Open at the Central Community Center in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The event was attended by fencers from around the region. In Senior Men's Epee out of 46 competitors, IFC fencers took gold, Deon Bradford, silver, David Vishny, and bronze, Dave Zeko (tie), while Anna Paul took the gold medal in Senior Women's Epee.
In the veteran's category of the North American Cup in Dallas, IFC's Bob Baldwin won the bronze medal in Veterans 70+ Men's Epee on December 14, 2013.
The Illinois Fencers Club, Mt. Prospect, IL promotes and teaches the Olympic sport of fencing to students of all ages and skill levels and provides a friendly and safe venue for members to practice their sport. It is a member operated non-for-profit sports association that has been serving beginning, recreational, and competitive fencers for more than 40 years. Further information is available on the club's website www.IFCfencing.org and its Facebook page.