Name: Sarah Lillian Gruman

Born: 1994

Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA

Hobbies: Singing and baking


Sarah was introduced to fencing by a summer camp five years ago and she really liked it. Her dad, Allex Gruman, a former fencer for Notre Dame University, suggested she should try fencing. Sarah enjoyed the camp a lot and committed to the sport right away. Soon she found out that it is a good way to keep in shape and something to do after school instead of watching TV. When she was younger, Sarah used to be kind of a quite girl, but fencing made her more outgoing and confident. Pretty soon after starting the sport Sarah went into competing and a couple of years later she won a bronze national medal in the Youth 14 event, which inspired her to more challenging tournaments at national and even international level.

Sarah won several outstanding results fencing team events with her club mates, and in 2010 they were nominated as the USFA Best Team of the Season. Sarah went a step further than most fencers and got her referee license, which she finds is “interesting to see the other side of a fencing bout.”  This year Sarah is graduating high school and her plan in college is to fence on a NCAA team like her father did. She really likes fencing because it is fun to travel, meet people that share her passion and because it makes her happy.

Name: Michael Vlad Costin
Born: 1995
Hometown: Culver City, CA
Hobbies: reading, writing and video games

Fencing has always been around Michael, because his father is a coach, but he became more interested in the sport and started taking lessons when he was about 8 or 9 years old. His parents were very supportive of his idea, but at the same time pointed out to Michael that it was his choice whether he stuck with the sport or not. They did not want him to feel pressured into it, because of family tradition. Michael really liked fencing and continued his training.

He started competing at the age of 10 and has won 12 national medals and one intenational cup so far. The November 2011 USFA North American Cup in Austin, TX was Michael's most exciting tournament so far, because he earned two gold medals in one weekend. He won both the men's saber cadet and men's saber junior events. Michael likes fencing because it is an amazing combination of physical ability and mental strength, also known as "physical chess." He shares his passion for the sport by helping his dad coach young novice fencers.

Through the fencing community Michael has made many friends all over the world.

Name: Lauren Ariel Rangel-Friedman
Born: 1993
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, CA
Hobbies: skimboarding, laser tag, soccer, cooking, indie music and playing her guitar

Lauren started fencing at the age of eleven because she quit ice-skating. Her older brother was a foil fencer so she started fencing. Lauren's first weapon was the foil, just like her brother's, but her heart was on the saber from the beginning, because "it is awesome and one can slash while fencing." Once she started saber there was no going back to foil. Saber became her true passion. In her fencing career Lauren believes that it took her a long time to earn her "B" rating, but then shortly after she earned her "A" rating as well. The 2011 Summer National Championships in Reno, NV brought Lauren quite a few athletic accomplishments.  Not only did she earn her A at this tournament, but she also earned two medals. It was Lauren's best nationals so far in her fencing career. Lauren really likes fencing because she made lots of friends from all over the world, she traveled a lot to different US cities, and starting this fall she is going to be part of the NCAA fencing team at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

Name: Eric Arzoian
Born: 1990
Hometown: Beverly Hills, CA
Hobbies: Listening to music, hanging out with friends, watching old sketch comedy shows, writing

Eric started fencing at the age of 12 because of his friend Teddy Levitt. He did not particularly enjoy playing team sports and thought that fencing was cool. At the age of 15 Eric won his first national title in the Division III event in Atlanta, GA. Same year Eric earned a second national title, this time together with his team mates Teddy Levitt and Harry Mahaffey: they became 2006 Junior Saber National Champion Team. It was an amazing result that introduced Eric to a new realm. People started recognizing him in the fencing community, he was not the anonymous kid anymore. The following year Eric together with the same team plus Olympian Jason Rogers earned the Senior National Champion Team title in Miami, FL. His best individual result so far is 3rd place at the 2010 Junior World Cup in Budapest, HUN. Currently Eric is a member on the NCAA Harvard University Fencing Team.

Eric really likes fencing because it involves a lot of strategy, it has given him personal growth and self control. He also likes it because you get to travel around the world. So far fencing tournaments have taken him to: Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Spain and Venezuela. When asked why he likes fencing, Eric answers: "Because it is a beautiful sport!"

Name: Anastasia Victoria Tatiana Pineschi
Born: 1996
Hometown: Playa del Rey, CA
Hobbies: Singing in choir, reading SciFi fantasy, drawing

Anastasia started fencing when she was nine, because her dad thought it might be good for her. She soon became quite interested in the sport and started to show results. Her dad, Victor, wanted to have a better understanding of the sport, so he started to take lessons and join group classes himself, and soon he started sharing his daughter's passion.

Anastasia's best result so far is when she earned her "A" rating in Atlanta during the 2010 Summer National Championships. She finished second in the cadet event. This result placed her on a different competitive platform which involved a few international cadet world cups in the current season (Poland, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy). Although still a Youth 14 fencer Anastasia competes in cadet, junior and division I tournaments. So far she had a fantastic competitive season: she is ranked number one fencer in her age category (Y14), and medaled at both events junior and cadet at the 2011 Junior Olympic Championships. When she grows up Anastasia would like to become a singer or a computer animator, "That would be fun" she says.

Name: Geoffrey Mason Loss
Born: 1994
Hometown: Laguna Beach, CA
Hobbies: Tetris, sleeping, bad puns, theater, French

Geoffrey started fencing in 2004, as he says “…because of peer pressure. I was taking swimming lessons at the time and hated it. Many of my school mates were taking fencing and I wanted to start fencing, too. I convinced my mom that it would be fun to take this class over the summer”. His coach, Brenden Richard of South Coast Fencing Center, inspired Geoffrey from the very beginning. That summer he suggested to Geoffrey to watch fencing on TV (the Olympic Games from Athens). Geoffrey just fell in love with the sport. When Geoffrey became a teenager Brenden suggested to him to pursue his fencing dream and explore more challenging training. Geoffrey started his 50 miles commute four times a week and began training with Coach Daniel Costin and the AGFC team. His dedication to the sport has shown great results. When asked which his best result is Geoffrey is torn to choose between the 5th place at a cadet world cup at the end of January in London GB and his results (2nd place in both junior and cadet events) at the 2011 USFA Junior Olympics which qualified him to the 2011 Junior & Cadet World Championships.