Utah fencer 3rd in nation

Duke University's Ben Hendricks of Kaysville placed third in the United States Fencing's North American Cup in Atlanta.

Hendricks made his way through the field of 192 elite foil fencers from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Hendricks lost 15-12 in the semifinal bout to two-time national champion and defending NCAA champion Andras Horyani, who went on to win the title, 15-4, over Enzo Castellani. Horyani fences for Ohio State University.

On his way to the semifinal, Hendricks defeated the third-ranked foil fencer in the U.S., Ron Berkowski, 15-12, in the round of 32. He then got by 11th-ranked Zain Shiato, 15-13, in the round of 16. To get into the medal round of eight, he defeated Wilfred Curioso, 15-11. Hendricks then beat the sixth-ranked fencer in the U.S., Ariel De Smet, 15-10 to earn the right to fence Horyani.

"Being undefeated coming out of the seeding pools really gave me a level of confidence I hadn't experienced before at a NAC event," Hendricks said.

This was Hendricks' first appearance in the medal round at an NAC and his best finish in a national tournament.

"Given this is an Olympic year, this was the toughest competition you could compete in on this side of the Atlantic," Hendricks said. "I am no longer a secret. No one out there is going to take me for granted. I don't know if that helps me or hurts me going into the rest of the NCAA season."