Dec. 3, 2005

DETROIT - Members of the Wayne State University fencing teams won five of the six weapons at the 2005 Istvan Danosi/Michigan Open hosted by WSU Saturday at the Matthaei.

Winning gold medals were sophomore Kasia Kuzniak (Konin, Poland) in the women's sabre, junior Lindsey Howard (Goshen, Ind./Mishawaka) in the women's foil, two-time defending national champion Anna Garina (Kiev, Ukraine) in the women's epee, junior Marek Petraszek (Gliwice, Poland) in the men's epee and junior Bobby Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.) in the men's sabre.

Kuzniak won all 12 of her bouts on the way to her first Michigan Open. She defeated Jing Zhao 15-8 in the championship round.

Howard won all eight of her bouts during the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, she had a 15-2 win over Lai Leung before recording a win over C.J. Wyckoff in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Howard was a 15-5 victor over Laura Chapin.

WSU had three of the four semifinalists in the women's epee. Garina defeated teammate Alyse Schneider (Harper Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) 15-2, while Justyna Konczalska (Innsbruck, Austria) defeated Rebecca Stotzer. In the championship bout, Garina was a 15-9 victor with Schneider falling 15-12 in the third-place bout.

Women's Sabre

1) Kasia Kuzniak, Wayne State

2) Jing Zhao, Michigan

3) Sarah Hanchar, Michigan

4) Mel Freedman, Michigan State

5) Alicia Chmielewski, Wayne State

6) Alex Oh, Michigan State

7) Larissa Leffingwell, Wayne State

8) Angela Dawoodi, Michigan

9) Kara Zdenek, Michigan State

10) Kristie Szekely, Michigan State

11) Amy Ross, Michigan

Women's Foil

1) Lindsey Howard, Wayne State

2) Laura Chapin, Michigan State

3) C.J. Wyckoff, Michigan State

4) Jenny Sutter, Michigan

5) Colleen Campbell, Michigan

6) Michelle Leach, Michigan

7) Diane Fiander, Michigan

8) Lai Yee Leung, Wayne State

9) MaryBeth Ketko, Wayne State

10) Stacy Otremba, Wayne State

11) Hilary Spiess-Malmstrom, Michigan State

12) Erin Stranyak, Wayne State

T13) Sarah Kiel, Michigan State

T13) Allison Daugherty, Michigan

15) Ashlee Sackett, Michigan State

16) Mary Webber, Detroit

17) Sara Jelinek, Michigan State

18) Aislin Hardee, Michigan State

19) Adela Perez, Wayne State

Women's Epee

1) Anna Garina, Wayne State

2) Justyna Konczalska, Wayne State

3) Rebecca Stotzer, Michigan

4) Alyse Schneider, Wayne State

5) Amy Gladden, Michigan State

6) Shayna Pierce, Michigan State

7) Erin MacCourtney, Michigan State

8) Alanna Shahly, Michigan

9) Sara Bowers, Michigan State

10) Sarah Fike, Michigan

11) Katrina Weirauch, Michigan State

12) Miranda Stolz, Michigan

13) Rachael Tillson, Michigan