Chang and Kaneshige competed at their first senior international event with team USA (photo courtesy Gil Talbot).
PARIS – Jerry Chang and Brian Kaneshige of the No. 4 Harvard men's fencing team helped the world's top ranked United States men's foil team to a bronze medal at the Paris Foil World Cup this weekend.
To open the first senior international event of the season, USA received a bye in the round of 32. The red, white and blue went on to defeat Hong Kong, 45-18, and China, 45-33, to reach the semifinals. USA fell victim to France's sword in the medal rounds, 45-40, to capture bronze.
Individually Chang finished 75th overall. The Harvard sophomore who hails from Mountain View, Calif., earned four victories with a plus-11 indicator in pool play to take a 31st ranking into the tables. Chang defeated Israel's Stanislav Sudilovsky, 15-12, to open up the elimination round. He dropped the ensuing bout to his US teammate, Nobuo Bravo, 15-8.
Kaneshige tallied five wins on the strip in pool action. Seeded 60th, the Maplewood, N.J., native defeated Dmitry Komissarov of Russia, 15-8, in the table of 128, but fell to Japan's Suguru Awaji, 15-3, to take 86th overall.
Chang and Kaneshige will take the strip with the Crimson this weekend when Harvard travels to Queens, N.Y., for the St. John's Invitational Sunday, Jan. 26.