Hometown world champions return to DCFC
Welcome home, world champions! Last week, local fans gathered for a homecoming with DCFC member Amanda Sirico and Capitol Division member Kat Holmes, half of the the U.S. Women’s Epee Team that took gold at Senior Worlds in Wuxi, China last month.
DC Fencers Club Member Amanda Sirico and Capitol Division member Kat Holmes returned to the club for a warm welcome from supportive club mates. They were both in town visiting family as part of a well-deserved break after their team world championship achievement. Their fellow teammates, Courtney and Kelley Hurley, hail from Texas and will see them again when the new fencing season starts this fall.
Amanda Sirico and DCFC Head Coach Janusz Smolenski
Amanda Sirico is a longtime member of DCFC who trains with Head Coach Janusz Smolenski. Fellow teammate Kat Holmes is a friend of DCFC, and a former member in her precollegiate career.
Both fencers add this world championship achievement to their stellar careers. Sirico, of Bowie, Maryland, took the 2018 Senior US Champion title in Women’s Epee and as a Notre Dame rising senior, was named ACC Fencer of the Year. Princeton grad and Washington, D.C. native Kat Holmes was a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team competing in Rio. Both have their eyes on the #Tokyo2020 Olympics.
During Saturday’s gathering, young fencers got their masks autographed by their World Champion clubmate. One young girl even tried on Amanda’s gold medal.
“They might not realize it now, but later, they’ll know how significant it is to meet this champion,” said her mother.
Enjoy this photo album of the homecoming celebration at DCFC’s Facebook page.
Did you miss the gold medal bout of Team USA vs Team Korea? Watch the championship finals on the FIE YouTube Channel.