Women's Fencing: Stone and team USA win gold at World Cup

It’s been a busy semester for senior fencer Eliza Stone. After winning the NCAA individual and team title fewer than two months ago, Stone was part of a four-person U.S. saber team that won gold over 18 other nations at the Korfanty Saber World Cup last Sunday in Chicago.

The individual competition, held before the team events, was a bit of a hiccup for Stone. She was knocked out in the round of 32, finishing 23rd of 134 competitors.

“I’m a little disappointed in my individual, but I was very much wanting to get back out there in the team events the day after,” Stone said.

The first team to reach 45 touches would advance to the next round. Against Mexico in the round of 16, the U.S. moved on with a decisive 45-23 victory in which Stone doubled up both of her opponents, 10-5. The next round presented more of a challenge to Stone and her teammates — Stone was outscored 5-3 in her match, but the U.S. narrowly beat Poland 45-39 in the quarterfinals. Stone did not fence in the semifinals, in which the U.S. advanced past Russia 45-39.

The finals were a different story. With the U.S. facing off against Hungary, Stone fenced in three matches to earn 15 of the necessary 45 winning points for the team.

The title marks an important step in Stone’s career. She competed in her first Beazley World Cup in January, after earning a high enough ranking at nationals to be able to compete at internationals. The top four in the national rankings are selected to play in the team events, and Stone reached No. 4 in the country.

“So I actually got lucky in that I was able to go to the first one in January, because I was kind of on the border in points,” Stone said.

Qualifying for and competing in international competition was especially difficult for Stone, who, unlike her team USA teammates at this cup, is a full-time student. She was the youngest team member by two years. Stone, a politics major, was competing while working on her senior thesis.

“It was crunch time — that was actually a very bad two months there,” Stone said. “It was basically I would come back from one competition, and I’d be jetlagged and I’d have to manage an all-nighter again for my senior thesis. It was rather busy — it was a rollercoaster.”

Stone, the first four-time All-America saberist in women’s program history, will continue her career in fencing after she graduates.

"There is one more World Cup this season — in China at the end of May — and that will determine if I make the national team once and for all, which will determine whether I get to go to world championships in the summer,” Stone said. “My plan is to try to make that, and to try to make it for the next couple of years. If I could do that, then I’m in a good position to go to Rio in 2016 and I’m going to try to go for it.”