On March 10th, HGFC fencer Ava Nanu travelled to Lansing with her mom and sister Lois (also an HGFC fencer) to compete in the “William Altier 3-Weapon Open” tournament at Michigan State University. You can find the results here:
https://www.askfred.net/tournaments/4993b32c-a371-42cd-bfe1-507f556b1d5c/results
Her foil event had 15 people entered, nine of them had ratings of C, D, or E, and Ava was the youngest one in the field. The majority of her opponents were college students, and almost all of them had more tournament experience. Despite that formidable set of circumstances, NOBODY backed her up into her end of the strip – she was a fearless little tiger, constantly on the attack, and backed EVERYONE up to THEIR end of the strip!
I could see the surprise and concern on their faces right through their masks – “Help, Mom! She’s coming to get me!” As her coach, it was wonderful to watch. She surrendered too many touches to long-range counterattacks from fencers with longer arms, but she managed to win her pool bout against Jacob Pullman of the MSU fencing club.
Ava lost her direct elimination bout to Nathan Knibbe of MSU, but scored 5 solid touches, most of them on counter-riposte (a clear indication of high concentration, clear thinking, and solid tactics). Needless to say, this coach is pleased and proud. She showed again that Honor Guards fencers have no fear or hesitation in putting up a tough fight – well done, Ava!