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Wayne State University Athletics

Salma Abdrabou at Titan Invitational (01/14/2024)
Izzy Rincon
Salma (Tarek) Abdrabou has put together an impressive freshman season at WSU.

Men's Fencing Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Two Fencers Compete at African Zonal Championships

Salma (Tarek) Abdrabou won the Junior Women's Epee event in Cairo last Tuesday.

CAIRO, Egypt -- Two Wayne State University fencers battled it out at the Junior & Cadet African Zonal Championships last week at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt.  Those two student-athletes were men's fencer Zeyad Nofal (Cairo, Egypt) and women's fencer Salma Abdrabou (Tarek) (Mohandessin, Egypt).  Abdrabou was the Gold Medalist in the Junior Women's Epee last Tuesday, March 5.

Starting with the freshman Abdrabou, the Warrior started her run in pool play on March 5.  She went 4-1 within her pool and was +15 (24-9) in touches.  Abdrabou lost one bout 5-4 to Cassim Aaliyah of South Africa.

Her performance in the pool round placed her as the fifth seed for direct elimination.

Abdrabou defeated Sideweho Laure Akoussan of Togo by a 15-7 score in the Round of 16, after receiving a bye in the Round of 32.  That advanced her to the Round of 8, where she bested Hadjer Laalmi of Algeria with a 15-9 decision in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Abdrabou squared off with the No. 8 seed Eya Rouatbi of Tunisia and won 15-6.

Her victory set her up with a contest against seeded-seeded Farah Mahfouz of Egypt in the Gold Medal bout.  She downed her fellow Egyptian 15-11 to claim the Gold Medal for the category.

Overall, Abdrabou was first out of 22 fencers in the weapon with a combined record of 8-1.

Nofal was in the Junior Men's Sabre the previous day (Monday, March 4).  The freshman notched a perfect 6-0 in the pools with a stellar +21 touch differential (30-9), which placed him as the No. 1 overall seed for direct elimination.

Following a Round of 16 bye, Nofal defeated Inkosi Brou of Niger 15-4.  However, he fell 15-12 in the semifinals to Nigeria's Evann Jean Abba Girault to officially finish tied-for-third in the final standings.  His overall record was 7-1.  Ahmed Hesham of Egypt was the Gold Medalist in the field of 13 fencers.

Both Warriors also fenced in their respective categories during the team competitions on Wednesday, March 6.  Nofal and Abdrabou each fenced for their native Egypt, and helped their country claim first in each the Junior Team Women's Epee and Junior Team Men's Sabre.

Abdrabou and Team Egypt received a Round of 8 bye as the No. 1 overall seed, before downing South Africa 45-32 in the semifinals.  During the victory, Abdrabou added 15 points to the team score in performing better than all three of her opponents (5-1, 5-4, 5-4).  The freshman did not compete in the finals against Algeria, in which Egypt won by a 45-23 tally.

Nofal's Egypt was one of three teams in the category, along with Algeria and Senegal.  Egypt had a first-round bye to the finals, while Algeria defeated Senegal 45-38 on the other end of the bracket.  Team Egypt secured a 45-18 triumph in its only action.  In the win, Nofal added 15 points to the team score (5-0, 5-3, 5-3) in helping his country to the victory.

 
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Players Mentioned

Salma Abdrabou

Salma Abdrabou

Epee
5' 6"
Freshman
Zeyad Nofal

Zeyad Nofal

Sabre
6' 4"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Salma Abdrabou

Salma Abdrabou

5' 6"
Freshman
Epee
Zeyad Nofal

Zeyad Nofal

6' 4"
Freshman
Sabre