Saratoga News

Local fencers dominated the under-13 boys' division at the California State Games in Orange County. Placers were (l-r) Matt Cummins of San Jose, fourth; Eric Durante of Los Gatos, third; and Martin Lee of Saratoga, fifth.

Local fencers make their point

Saratoga's Lee among fencers to reach finals

By Dick Sparrer

They wanted to get their point across.

And the members of the California Fencing Academy did just that when they competed in the California State Games in Orange County.

The local fencers wanted to prove that they ranked among the state's best, and they made that point by taking home more junior fencing medals than any other club in the tournament.

Alex Nomura of Milpitas, Eric Durante of Los Gatos and Ann Sidenblad of Cupertino topped the list of medal winners for the Los Gatos club. Matthew Cummins of San Jose and Martin Lee of Saratoga also placed in the finals.

"Every junior we took to the tournament made it to the finals," coach Daniel G. Tibbetts said after the event, the largest fencing tourney on the west coast other than the Pacific Coast Fencing Championships. "It's important to note that all of these fencers have been fencing less than one year and all of the other finalists and medal winners have been fencing much longer."

Nomura struck gold for the Academy, winning the under-15 men's foil title. He has been fencing for just eight months and this was just his second tournament. Nomura had finished second in his first tourney.

Sidenblad won two medals in the women's under-20 division, finishing second in both foil and epee. The 17-year-old Monta Vista student was the youngest competitor in her age group, and this was her first tournament every. She has been fencing for just a year.

Durante has been fencing for less than a year, but he managed to finish third in the under-13 men's foil competition. This was just his third tournament. He had finished second twice in local competition.

Cummins, at 10 the youngest competitor in his division, came through with a fourth in the under-13 men's foil, with Lee, 12, fifth in the same division. The two have each been fencing less than a year.