The Acolytes Rising tournament, like the Southern California beach tournament just weeks earlier, was a night for the darkhorses— the upstarts— the underdogs. Preston Pomeroy entered the tournament U, and faced considerable challenge from three D-ranked competitors: Jacob Areias, Matt Pointer, and David Lazenby. Pomeroy faced each one of them, taking out Areias early in the bracket, eked out a win against Pointer, and then won definitively against Lazenby in a series of bare first contacts and interceptions, not to mention a crucial defense forcing Lazenby to go on offense, which may have led him to making mistakes on his approach. Pomeroy was ever patient, biding his time, not afraid to let the clock run out, and forcing his opponents into making mistakes. Pomeroy took gold for the first time in his career, and earned his first letter in Rey Saber at the grade of C (Pomeroy also has an E in Ren Saber).
In other areas, it was a hard fought battle between Shayan Doroudi (E) and David Lazenby. This was an extremely close fight, and the final bout could have been quite different. However, Doroudi lost due to a crucial force violation, as both fencers were working off several warnings and cards. Doroudi ultimately took fourth, losing to Pointer, and Lazenby went on to win silver against Preston Pomeroy.
