RIFAC : Rhode Island Fencing Academy & Club
March 9, 2008 -- THE BIG GREEN MACHINE WINS BIG IN THE WINDY CITY!
RIFAC fencers Peregine Badger and Alex "Moose" Tannous showed their stuff today at the Division II/III North American Cup (NAC) in Chicago, IL. This national tournament attracted fencers from all around the USA.
Peregrine Badger won the gold medal in the Division II Men's Epee, while Alex Tannous was the silver medallist in the Division II Women's Saber.
RIFAC coach Jeff Mooney was at the national tournament helping both athletes achieve their impressive results. Jeff is Alex Tannous' coach, and Peregrine Badger is coached by Alex Ripa.
Congratulations to Peregrine and Alex, and to all the RIFAC fencers who competed in Chicago. Full results can be found here.
February 15, 2008 -- RIFAC FENCER JAMES HAWROT TO REPRESENT THE USA AT THE JUNIOR/CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ITALY!!!
Charlotte, NC -- Epee fencer James Hawrot of RIFAC earned a bronze medal in a field of 233 fencers at the Junior Olympic Championships in Charlotte today and secured his position on the Junior US Team. The next stop for James is the Junior and Cadet World Championships in Acireale, Italy, from April 6-14, 2008.
In order to be selected for the team, athletes must be in the top three of the US Team point standings. Athletes improve their standings on this list by perfoming well at US national tournaments and international events during a gruelling season of travel and competition. Among James' excellent results this season was a sixth place finish at the Junior World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, in January, considered by many to be one of the strongest tournaments on the circuit.
Even with James' excellent record, however, it all came down to the performances at the Junior Olympics -- the final points event for qualification to the Junior World Championships -- for the US athletes vying for the top positions. There was intense competition for these coveted spots.
RIFAC would like to congratulate James and the two other US fencers who have been selected to fence in Italy. You've made us proud, James!
January 31, 2008
Alex and Jill are proud to announce the arrival of their son, Joseph Kenneth Ripa, born on January 31, 2008. 8 lbs, 2oz. He can't wait to meet everyone at RIFAC!
March 9-12, 2007
RIFAC Wins Big at the North American Cup in Atlanta, Georgia, including MARY KINEKE'S GOLD MEDAL IN THE DIVISION III WOMEN'S SABER!
Over the four days of national competition in Atlanta, Georgia, RIFAC fencers kept their eyes on the prize and brought home a total of seven medals, including a GOLD MEDAL IN THE DIVISION III WOMEN'S SABER won by RIFAC's Mary Kineke.
In fact, RIFAC's women's saber stood tall, earning four of the seven medals from the weekend. Mary Kineke not only won the Division III Women's Saber, but brought home a seventh place top-eight medal in the Division II Women's Saber. Maia Hutt earned a bronze medal in the Division III Women's Saber, and teammate Alexandra Tannous brought home a sixth place top-eight medal in the Division II Women's Saber.
And, while RIFAC's saber fencers were rolling along, Andrew Houle took home a seventh place top-eight medal in the Veteran's Men's Saber.
Not to be outdone, RIFAC's epee program stepped up with Mark Rosenthal earning a silver medal in the Division II Men's Epee, and Maddy Buxton earning a bronze medal in the Division II Women's Epee.
Congratulations to all of our fencers! You made us proud!
RIAFC's Wifred Curioso WINS the "Challenge CEP"!
Three of RIFAC's foil fencers left for Paris on February 1st, 2007 for the third annual "Challenge CEP" marathon foil tournament held by the Cercle des Escrimeurs Parisiens fencing club in Paris, France. Neal Rosenthal, Blace Houle, and Wilfred Curioso took their high hopes with them, along with their foils and masks.
This year's tournament was quite large: 273 fencers in the boy's foil tournament alone. In all, 16 nations were represented at the event.
At the end of the day RIFAC's Wilfred Curioso stood victorious, winning in the final against a fellow American. This is the first time an American has won this event!
Blace Houle finished in 12th place, while Neal Rosenthal finished at 49th. RIFAC is very proud of all three fencers who represented us so well.
We would like to thank the organizers of the event for their hospitality and graciousness. It was a well organized event with a very friendly atmosphere. Many new friends were made.
We would also like to congratulate our friend from Italy, Giulia Guerra, on her victory in the girl's event.
January 19, 2007, Montreal, Canada
RIFAC's James Hawrot wins bronze medal at the Carl Schwende Junior World Cup!
Cadet epee fencer James Hawrot made his mark on the international fencing scene today. Hawrot, who fences in the cadet age group (one group younger than the juniors) stood toe-to-toe with some of the best of the world-ranked juniors and fought his way to a bronze medal finish. To earn the bronze medal James had to pass Israeli fencer Grigori Beskin -- who now stands at number three in the world in the junior world rankings. In a gripping bout, James was able to come from a 13-14 deficit to defeat Beskin and win the bout 15-14.
Francisco Limardo of Venezuela (who now stands at number two in the junior world rankings) defeated James and denied him entry into the finals.
James' success in Montreal puts him at second place in the US cadet men's epee point standings, and comes on the heels of James' sixth place finish at the Junior Men's Epee national tournament held in Columbus, Ohio. Congratulations James!
August 14, 2006
RIFAC/West Bay finds permanent new home!!!
A five-year lease was signed today for the new RIFAC/West Bay facility.
The new facility is located at 2800 Post Road in Warwick. While smaller than our previous East Greenwich facility, plans for a major expansion have already been set in motion for next year. All we need now is lots of enrollment to support it!
Classes are scheduled to begin the first week of October. Watch for an announcement of our Grand Opening!!!
So, to all the West Bay-ers out there: are you ready to fence?
July 17, 2006
Alex and Jill are proud to announce the arrival of their new daughter, Chloe Marie Ripa, born on July 17th, 2006. 8 lbs, 2oz.
