Horanyi Wins Gold, Two Others Earn Silver at Pan American Games – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio State fencer Andras Horanyi, who won the NCAA men’s foil championship last March as a sophomore, won the gold medal and two other Buckeyes won silver medals earlier this month at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A native of Boulder, Colo., Horanyi defeated Felipe Alvear of Chile, 15-4, in the men’s foil gold medal match, marking the most lopsided final bout of the competition.
Former Buckeye Hanna Thompson, a four-time All-American (2002-05) and now a volunteer assistant coach for Ohio State, won the silver medal in women’s foil, while Eileen Grench, who will be a senior this season for the Buckeyes, was part of the silver medal winning women’s sabre team.
Thompson fenced to a pair of one-point decisions in her semifinal and final matches. She defeated Canada’s Monica Kwan, 15-14, in the semifinals before dropping a 13-12 match to Mariana Gonzalez of Venezuela in the gold medal bout.
Grench (Davis, Calif.) and the U.S. women’s sabre squad knocked off Venezuela, 45-34, in the team semifinal round before falling to Cuba, 45-39, for the gold medal.
In the United States Fencing national point standings heading into the Pan American Games, Horanyi was ranked No. 4 in senior men’s foil, Grench was ranked No. 8 in senior women’s sabre and Thompson was ranked No. 2 in senior women’s foil.
Ohio State won the 2004 NCAA Fencing Championship and has placed among the Top 5 in the nation the last five consecutive seasons.
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By Tim Stried, Ohio State Athletics Communications … stried.3@osu.edu
