The U.S. senior women's saber fencers continue to lead the world. They hold the top three world ranks virtually uncontested and are the top-ranked team in the world. 2004 Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis (22, Beaverton, Ore.) is ranked #1 in the world, and has earned two World Cup gold and one bronze this season already. The only world cup this season without at least one U.S. woman in the top eight was the one cup that the squad did not attend.

Rebecca Ward (17, Portland, Ore.), the 2006 World Champion, is in the #2 spot, and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Sada Jacobson (24, Dunwoody, Ga.) is ranked third.

Emily Cross (20, New York, N.Y.) continues to rise through the senior women's foil rankings, earning a silver at a world cup in Leipzig in February and a top-16 finish at the Gran Prix in Marseilles, France on March 23. She also was a key member of the women's foil team that finished 4th in Marseille and 6th in St. Petersburg, Russia in early March. Cross is now ranked 12th in the world.

Courtney Hurley (16, Medina, Texas) is ranked 15th in the world senior women's epee standings -- an extremely impressive rank for her age. She placed 5th at the Wurth Cup, an "A" cup in Germany, and 11th at a world up in Luxembourg, as well.

On the men's side, the saber squad is performing well among the top in the sport, as well. Tim Morehouse (28 Bronx, N.Y.) won a silver at the World Cup in Algeria on March 23 and place 8th in Tunisia on March 16. Jason Rogers (23, Los Angeles, Calif.) earned a bronze at the esteemed Gran Prix in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on March 3; and Ivan Lee (26, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Keeth Smart (28, Brooklyn, N.Y.) have reached finals of 8 at several other cups and Gran Prix, as well.

Lee, Rogers, Morehouse and Smart are all ranked in the top 30 in the world, with Lee cracking the top 16 at 11th. The squad is ranked 8th in the world.

Seth Kelsey (25, Colorado Springs, Colo.) is making his mark on the men's epee field, and is now ranked 10th in the world. Soren Thompson (25, San Diego, Calif.) is close behind, at 18th, with a 5th place finish at the Gran Prix in Stockholm in early March.

And in men's foil, the team of Jed Dupree (27, New York, N.Y.), Gerek Meinhardt (16, San Francisco, Calif.), and Jon Tiomkin (27, Hewlett, N.Y.) finished 8th at a Gran Prix in St. Petersburg, Russia on March 11. The U.S. men's foil team is now ranked fifth in the world.

For more details on individual U.S. performances, check out http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/content/view/2109/99/, which details recent international results. For complete FIE results, see www.fie.ch.

Cindy Bent Findlay
US Fencing Media Relations
USFencingMedia@earthlink.net <mailto:USFencingMedia@earthlink.net> * 614.746.6733 www.USFencing.org