Tokyo - The U.S. Men’s Epee Team entered the Olympic Games seeded ninth behind host nation Japan on Friday.
With Japan using a portion of its host country allocation to compete in the men’s epee team event, the two countries would fence off for a position in the quarter-finals.
The team of Curtis McDowald (Jamaica, N.Y. / Peter Westbrook Foundation / St. John’s), Yeisser Ramirez (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Peter Westbrook Foundation) and Jake Hoyle (Philadelphia, Pa. / New York Athletic Club / Columbia) built a 23-16 lead after the first two rotations with Ramirez leading the squad at a +5 indicator. Japan picked away at Team USA during the final three bouts to take the win.
The 2019 Asian Champion, Masaru Yamada, edged Ramirez, 5-4, in the seventh and 2018 Asian Games Champion Satoru Uyama defeated Hoyle, 7-3, in the eighth to cut Team USA’s lead to two at 31-29.
In the final bout, McDowald fenced Koki Kano – a top-eight finisher at the 2019 Senior Worlds. Kano gave Japan its first lead at 32-31 and later went on a five-touch run to build a 41-35 lead before ending the bout at 45-39.
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