BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The 2023 Fencing Junior and Cadet World Championships are underway this week in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with the best and the brightest Junior (Under-20) and Cadet (Under-17) fencers in the world squaring off for the chance to be crowned world champions.
 
This event will feature three members of the LIU fencing family.

Freshman Mo Elsayed will compete in his final world championships under the age of 20, representing Team Egypt in both the individual and team relay events.

Elsayed enters the individual event as the world No. 2 seed, and Team Egypt will enter the team relay as the top seed and the defending world champions.
 
LIU assistant coach Dwight Smith will attend as the epee coach for Team USA.

This marks his second season leading the American squad into the world championships.

Last season, the men's epee team brought home silver after falling to Team Egypt in the gold medal match.

This year, Smith looks to stop Egypt, which has won seven of the last eight team events in junior men's epee.

Although Smith and Elsayed work together during the collegiate season, they're rivals on the international stage.

"It's strictly business, never personal," Smith said. "Mo and I both understand that when we are in college season, we're family, but when we are on the international stage, we go after each other hard. Whatever happens on the fencing piste, stays on the piste, but when it's all over, the love and respect for each other is always there."
 
Finally, LIU assistant coach Sean McClain will be there as well, as a personal coach for his daughter, Lauren Scruggs, who fences foil for Team USA.

Lauren, who won the NCAA women's foil national title last week at Duke, is a sophomore at Harvard. She also is the defending Junior World Champion, and is seeking her fourth individual world title this week.