Update: United States finishes eighth in team sabre event.

The United States sabre squad, after winning a silver medal over Russia at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, could not pull off a similar feat in London, settling for an eighth-place team finish.

Tim Morehouse '00, who secured an eighth-place individual finish, ended team play with a disappointing 1-6-2 record for the U.S. squad.

The American team, seeded at the No. 8 slot at the outset of the tournament, drew the Russian squad in the opening round.

Morehouse first squared off against Veniamin Reshetnikov, an opponent he had defeated just a week earlier in the individual competition. However, Reshetnikov avenged his loss with a 5-2 victory. Morehouse also suffered a 5-3 defeat to Aleksei Yakimenko, and by that point, the United States had fallen behind by a perilous 30-17 margin. He eventually regrouped in his final bout against Nikolay Kovalev to draw a 5-5 tie, but his efforts proved futile in a 45-33 loss.

The United States then faced off against China in the consolation bracket, looking to rebound from a tough loss. The Americans, though, failed to find their rhythm, dropping their match by a resounding 45-28 score.

Morehouse was likewise foiled by his Chinese opponents, losing all three bouts by scores of 5-3, 5-4 and 5-1.

America managed to put up a fight against Belarus in the seventh-place match, staying within one point of the European squad throughout the bout. Morehouse factored into the U.S. resurgence, earning a draw with Aliaksei Likhacheuski and pulling out his sole victory over Aliaksandr Buikevich to keep the Americans ahead. Yet, the United States failed to hold on to the slim lead and dropped the match to Belarus, ending with an eighth-place finish at the London Games.


Update: Morehouse reaches quarterfinals in individual sabre competition. See Storify below for more via @thejustice.


The London games will mark Tim Morehouse's '00 third trip to the Olympics. He won a silver medal in fencing in Beijing in 2008 and is a two-time individual U.S. Nationals Champion. He is also a seven-time World Cup medalist.

In London, Morehouse will contend in Individual Sabre competition on July 29 against Russian Veniamin Reshetnikov and in Team Sabre competition on Aug. 3 against Russia.
Morehouse graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in History and received a Master's in Education from Pace University in 2003. He was inducted into the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, and he won the Brandeis University Alumni Achievement Award in 2010.

In 1999, Morehouse led Brandeis to a No. 2 ranking among Division III teams. He then led the Judges as a senior captain in 2000 to a No. 1 Division-III ranking and a 10th-place national ranking among Division I teams.
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