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| Vezzali – Queen of Swords (photo: ValentinaVezzali.com) |
Italian foilist Valentina Vezzali won her 71st World Cup Gold and added yet another credit to the claim of best fencer ever with a 15-7 win over Virginie Ujlaky (FRA) in the finals of the Seoul Grand Prix.
The US placed two fencers in the top-32 as Doris Willette took 22nd and Nzingha Prescod finished 24th.
The Seoul Grand Prix continues Sunday with the team event.
Also fencing for the United States were Nicole Ross (44th), Eve Levin (65th), Ambika Singh (68th), Lee Kiefer (81st), Kylei McGill (89th), and Hyun-Kyung Yuh (99th).
Vezzali dominated the first rounds of the tournament until she got to the quarter-finals. In the top-8, she won 15-12 against Germany’s Katja Waechter but then dominated fellow Italian Ilaria Salvatori 15-5 in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals of the tournament featured two matches in with teammates faced off. On one side of the bracket was the Vezzali/Salvatori Italian bout while the other featured France’s Maitrejean vs. Ujlaky.
Prescod (USA) entered the DE table with the 34th seed. She knocked off Edina Knapek (HUN) 15-13, but then faced #2 seed Arianna Errigo (ITA) and lost 15-11.
Willette (USA), seeded 30th, dominated her first round bout with Olga Lobyntseva (RUS) 15-3. She then faced #3 seed and Beijing Silver Medalist Hyun Hee Nam (KOR). Willette kept it close, but lost 15-12.
Nam would lose in the next round to Larisa Korobeinikova (RUS) 8-7. Korobeinikova won several one-touch matches before being outclassed in the quarter-finals with a 15-8 loss to Corrine Maitrejean (FRA).