Air Force Academy

Oct. 1, 2011

U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. -- Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011 - The Air Force Academy fencers traveled to Amarillo, Texas, to compete in the annual Amarillo Open. The open competition hosted both the youth divisions, Division 1A and veteran divisions. The Falcons competed in Division 1A and the junior open championships.

On day 1 of the Amarillo Open, the Division 1A open men's saber championship hosted only one pool of competitors. The Air Force saber team dominated the competition, taking the top five spots. The team's fencers were: Scott Pippin, Emiliano Kaptain, Emerson Woerner, Edward Wood and Edward Wong. In the semi-finals, Pippin and Kaptain competed against each other for the championship title. Kaptain came out on top, winning his first open tournament of his Air Force career. Pippin was the runner-up, followed by Woerner and Wood tied for third place. Edward Wong took fifth place.

"Even though it was a small field of competitors, our men's saber team fought strong to come out on top," said Head Coach Abdel Salem. "We need our team to be strong."

Earlier in the day, Air Force fencer Heather Nelson was the women's open saber champion. Teammate, Yannie Horth, tied for third with her opponent from Plains, Texas.

"It was good to see Heather win again," said Salem.

In Division 1A open men's epee, Chase Houser finished in eighth place in the 46-man competition. Nathan Sorensen finished in 13th place, while teammates Dalton Boatright and Travis Dyson finished 18th and 32nd, respectively.

In open junior mixed foil, freshman Lydia Hill finished in the No. 7 spot, Diana Hock took 10th place and Rachel Cranfill finished 11th.

The competition continues on Sunday, Oct. 2, with the youth groups and veteran competitions. Senior men's foil, open junior epee and Division 1A women's foil also compete.