ROME, Italy – Sherraine Schalm-MacKay of Brooks, Alta. won a bronze medal at the women’s epee World Cup in Rome on Saturday following a 14-13 defeat at the hands of the eventual gold medallist Xiaojuan Luo from China.

Luo, whom MacKay had beaten in the finals of the Prague World Cup earlier this season, bested Marjiana Markovic of Germany 15-10 to win the first world cup of her young career.

The current world No.1, Schalm-MacKay, has remarkably won a medal at the last eleven world class events she has entered. The three previous competitions resulted in world cup gold medals.

"Now a medal feels like the standard for me." Schalm-MacKay said, "I had forgotten how unsatisfying it feels to lose and it definitely makes me hungrier for the next competition."

Schalm-MacKay breezed into the medal rounds with a solid 15-10 victory over Li Na of China.

Montreal’s Julie Leprohon defeated Jessica Beer of New Zealand in a thrilling 15-14 third round match to reach the quarterfinals.  However, Leprohon’s medal hopes vanished when she was unable to get past the 2001 World Champion Claudia Bokel of Germany falling 5-3 to finish seventh. The quarterfinals appearance was her best result of the season thus far.

Bokel joined Schalm-Mackay as the other bronze medalist.

Catherine Dunnette of Calgary also had an impressive showing qualifying for Saturday’s action and winning her first round match to make the top 32.