Fencing in the News

[LongBlade]

Fencer crosses swords with the best
Monique Kavelaars from Appin said she felt a little over her head when she entered the world of top-level fencing.

KATHY RUMLESKI, Sports Reporter
London Free Press
2005-03-19

www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Sports/2005/03/19/965898-sun.html

Monique Kavelaars felt like a hockey player from Mexico. Making history as a member of the first Canadian women's epee fencing team to qualify for the Olympics, the Appin native said along the journey to Athens she was in awe of the great fencing nations, such as Russia and Italy.

At first, it was hard to believe that a team from Canada -- where fencing is on par with perhaps cricket -- had qualified, Kavelaars said this week while vacationing in the London area.

She lives in Sweden with husband Andreas Karlsson, a former NHLer.

Qualifying for Athens took an incredible amount of hard work, commitment and sacrifice, she said, such as moving to Paris two years before the Olympics, struggling to learn French, find a job and train.

"I was a Mexican hockey player showing some talent and I wasn't going to get any better staying in Mexico," said Kavelaars, who will turn 34 tomorrow.

Kavelaars and her teammates blossomed in Paris under French coach Daniel Levavasseur, whose athletes won medals at eight Olympics prior to Athens.

The Canadian team landed in Athens under the radar and came away fourth after losing to France 45-37 in the bronze-medal match.

Kavelaars, a Regina Mundi and York University grad, said most people ask what it was like to lose the bronze.

She said what most don't know is that the underdog Canadians could have won the gold.

Kavelaars and Julie Leprohon had battled to a tie with Russia in the semifinal but in the last match team leader Sherraine MacKay couldn't defeat her opponent and that put them into the bronze matchup with France.

"You're just numb," said Kavelaars, who lost in the second round at the Olympics in individual epee.

Last month, the epee team finally got its revenge, defeating France in a 45-44 come-from-behind victory at a World Cup in Germany, where they finished fifth.

Levavasseur was watching.

"What? I had to leave for you guys to beat France," he said to the Canadians. Levavasseur is now coaching the Chinese.

"We're not a fluke," Kavelaars said proudly.

The team continues competition on the World Cup circuit, leading up to the world championship in Germany in October. Up next is a competition in China next month. It just completed a training camp in Montreal.

While in Canada, Kavelaars took the opportunity to visit her parents, Anne and John Kavelaars in Appin. Living next door are Ria and Jack deVos, parents of soccer star Jason deVos, who has 49 caps for Canada.

Kavelaars finds it hard to believe she and deVos have both represented Canada on the world stage.

"I used to beat him up," she joked.

Also on the world stage is her twin sister Ingrid, an actress living in Los Angeles who has had TV roles in Jeremiah, Code Name: Eternity and Stargate SG-1.

Monique taught actor Luke Perry how to fence for his role in Jeremiah.

Former beauty queens, the sisters are best friends (Ingrid is married to a former NHLer, Dallas Eakins). They're also driven, like their older siblings.

One sister is an accountant, the other an art and religion teacher. Her brother has a doctorate in physics.

"I credit that to my parents. Education was always a huge thing," Kavelaars says.

But a solid work ethic was also instilled in the children.

Kavelaars started fencing at 17 because it was one of the disciplines of the modern pentathlon.

She didn't enjoy it at first, but said she needed to do well in fencing if she wanted to have success in the pentathlon.

Soon she was addicted.

"It's like playing a video game," says the expressive, personable athlete, who -- one would never guess -- likes to battle with a weapon in high-stress situations.

Epee -- which simulates an actual duel -- is suited to her personality, she said, because there are less restrictions, less judging.

"Just let me at 'em.

"In fencing, you could be five-foot-four or six-one," she says.

"Your physical attributes can be an asset in any regard.

"It comes down to your brains. You have to think quick. You've got a split second to make decisions," says Kavelaars, who stands five-foot-six .

At this point, she's not sure if she'll compete until the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"The Olympics are amazing and I'd love to do another one," she says.

"But my priority is definitely my family."

[LongBlade]

Fencing in 6th Place At NCAA Championships
Three Lions in Top Ten as Men Complete First Day

College Sports.com
March 18, 2005

www.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/031805aaa.html


Jeremy Sinkin aims
for his third straight
All-American honor.

Columbia's men's fencers got the Lions off to a good start at the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas by securing a sixth place finish after the first day of competition. Alex Krul, Paul Reyfman and Scott Sugimoto are all in the top ten of their weapons with three rounds remaining.

Krul and Reyfman are both in the top ten of the men's sabre competition after four rounds with nine victories each. Krul (Los Angeles, Calif.) is in seventh place with a 9-5 record and a touches scored-touches received differential of +13 (58-45). Reyfman (New York, N.Y.) is in eight place with the same record as Krul and a +12 (59-47) differential. A two-time honorable mention All-American Reyfman is looking to improve upon his 11th place finish last season with a strong performance in rounds 5-7 on Friday. Franz Boghicev of Penn State leads in sabre with a 13-1 record.

In men's foil, Scott Sugimoto (Sacramento, Calif.) is currently in eighth place with a 9-5 record. Sugimoto is tied with two other fencers at nine victories, but his +11 (55-44) touches differential leaves him just behind the other two who boast +13 differentials. A first team All-Ivy performer this season, Sugimoto is in position to earn All-American honors. Jeremy Sinkin (Rochester, N.Y.), a first team All-American last season, is in 14th place with six victories. He has a +5 and is within two victories of eighth place. Nonpatat Panchan of Penn State leads the competition with a 13-1 record.

Bill Verigan (Wyckoff, N.J.), the Lions only entrant in the men's epee competition, finished the first day in 23rd position. With three wins, he needs a strong second day, but could jump into the top 15. Marek Petraszek of Wayne State leads in epee with 13 victories.

In the team competition, defending national champion Ohio State holds a seven-point edge over St. John's. Ohio State scored 57 points in the first day of competition, while the Red Storm followed with 50 points. Penn State is in third place with 47 points and 2003 champions Notre Dame finished with 43 points, good for fourth place. The Lions are just seven points behind Notre Dame and two points off of Ivy League rivals, Harvard.

Competition resumes at the George R. Brown Convention Center at Rice University on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. The men's gold medal bouts are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The women's competition begins Saturday at noon.

Complete results can be found at www.ncaasports.com/fencing.

Team Standings (After Round 4)
Place School Total
1. Ohio State University 57
2. St. John's University 50
3. Pennsylvania State University 47
4. Notre Dame 43
5. Harvard University 38
6. Columbia/Barnard 36
7. New York University 26
8. Princeton University 24
9. Pennsylvania, University of 21
10. Stanford University 20
11. T Rutgers University 19
11. T Wayne State University 19
13. T Cal State, Fullerton 15
13. T U.S. Air Force Academy 15
15. Duke University 14
16. UNC, Chapel Hill 9
17. T Detroit Mercy, University of 8
17. T U.C. San Diego 8
19. T Haverford College 6
19. T Vassar College 6
21. T Cleveland State 5
21. T M.I.T. 5
23. T Brandeis University 4
23. T Drew University 4
25. Yale University 3
26. Johns Hopkins University 2

[LongBlade]

Isayenko Wins Gold, St. John's in Second Place at NCAA Fencing

College Sports.com
March 18, 2005
www.cstv.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/031805aag.html


Sergey Isayenko won the gold
medal in the sabre at today's
NCAA Fencing Championships

Queens, NY - St. John's senior Sergey Isayenko (Cherkassy, Ukraine) won a gold medal in the sabre and the Red Storm fencing team maintained its position in second place at the 2005 NCAA Fencing Championships after the completion of the second round of competition.

Defending champion Ohio State, which led by seven points after the first round, extended its lead to 10 points over St. John's, as the Buckeyes have tallied 94 points to the Red Storm's 84. Penn State is in third place with 77 points, followed by Notre Dame in fourth (70) and Harvard in fifth place (65).

The Championships are being held through Sunday, March 20 at the George Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. The women's half of the competition will begin on Saturday morning.

After winning 11 of his 14 bouts in Thursday's first round, Isayenko won eight bouts in the second round. Isayenko, who won the silver medal last year, defeated Notre Dame sophomore Patrick Ghattas, 15-12, in the championship bout. Also in the sabre, sophomore Nijmy Cadet (Saint Mark, Haiti), competing in his first NCAA Championships, won eight bouts and placed 17th overall.

"I'm very happy for Sergey, especially after finishing as the runner-up last year," St. John's Head Coach Yury Gelman said. "We didn't have as strong a performance as we had hoped overall, but I'm proud of this team. I thought the performance of Cadet was outstanding."

Senior Arpad Horvath (Budapest, Hungary), who was seeking his third individual title in the epee, placed fifth overall. Horvath won 10 bouts in the first round and six in Friday's second round. Sophomore Ben Bratton (New York, NY) won 13 bouts over the two days of competition and placed 10th overall.

In the foil, senior Nitai Kfir (Simtat-Haveredy, Israel) placed fifth overall, winning 17 bouts. Sophomore Henry Kennard (Concord, MA) won 11 bouts and placed 13th overall.

St. John's entered this year's NCAA Championships off of a sterling performance at the NCAA Northeast Regional, where they qualified 12 fencers (two from each weapon on both the men's and women's sides). The Red Storm were the only team in the country to qualify 12 fencers for the competition.

The National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships include individual events in each of the six weapons (women's foil, women's epee, women's sabre, men's foil, men's epee, men's sabre). Fencers will compete in a round-robin of 24 fencers in five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top four fencers in each event will fence direct elimination 15-touch bouts for first, second, third and fourth place. Absolute ties for the seeding will be broken as follows: for positions one through three, by a coin toss; for position four, by a fence-off. An institution's place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes for the duration of the championships.

[LongBlade]

Fencing Remains in First After Stage One of NCAA Championship

College Sports.com
March 19, 2005

ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/recaps/031905aaa.html


Sophomore Buckeye Boaz Ellis won
his second NCAA men's foil title.


COLUMBUS, Ohio - - After two days of action, the defending national champion Ohio State fencing squad continues to lead by 10 points over St. Johns at the 2005 NCAA Fencing Championships at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. In the team standings after men's competition, the Buckeyes tallied 94 points, while St. Johns trailed in second place with 84 points. Penn State followed in third place with 77 points, while Notre Dame finished the two days of competition with 70 points.

Ohio State sophomore foilist Boaz Ellis (Moshav Zippori, Israel/Chaklai Nahalal) won his second national championship after a 15-8 victory over New York's Gabriel Sinkin. Ellis came in as the second seed in the semifinal round after he defeated bronze medal winner Ronald Berkowsky from Pennsylvania in quarterfinal action.

In sabre competition, junior Jason Rogers (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood) finished at the No. 5 spot with 18 victories, while two-time NCAA men's sabre champion Adam Crompton (Newark, N.J./St. Benedicts) finished in seventh place. In epee action, sophomore Denis Tolkachev (St. Petersburg, Russia) placed fourth with 17 victories and sophomore Christian Rivera (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) took 12th. Freshman Buckeye William Jeter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) finished at the No. 14 spot in men's foil.

Up next, the Ohio State fencing squad awaits the final results from Saturday and Sunday's women's rounds. The combined total score of the men's and women's competition will determine the overall team champion.

NCAA Fencing Championship
Men's Final Results
Team
1. Ohio State, 94
2. St. Johns, 84
3. Penn State, 77
4. Notre Dame, 70
5. Harvard, 65

Sabre
5. Jason Rogers
7. Adam Crompton

Foil
1. Boaz Ellis
14. William Jeter

Epee
4. Denis Tolkachev
12. Christian Rivera

[LongBlade]

NCAA title is on the line...
but here there's no madness, no crowds and no TV, but to these athletes, a crown wears just as well
By DAVID BARRON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/other/3092366

The NCAA men's and women's fencing championships continue through Sunday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Women will compete today and Sunday for individual titles, and their results will be combined with results from the men's events Thursday and Friday to determine the NCAA national team champion.
Mariel Zagunis, Emily Jacobson, Alicja Kryczalo and Boaz Ellis are, arguably, the most accomplished athletes engaged in NCAA tournament competition this weekend — a more-than-worthy Final Four for the 2005 championship season.

But while their basketball counterparts draw tens of thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers this weekend, Zagunis, Jacobson, Kryczalo and Ellis are competing before fewer than 300 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

They have talent, championship experience and Olympic credentials, including a 2004 gold medal for Zagunis, the first won by an American in her sport in 100 years. What they don't have is a marquee audience and a prime-time stage.

Even though fencing, their collegiate sport of choice, easily can be classified as an extreme sport — name another, after all, that more eloquently represents the genteel art of homicide — it lags considerably behind the traditional stick and ball sports in the hearts of American fans.

"The difference between fencing in America and Europe is that fencers in Europe who have achievements (like a gold medal) are multimillionaires," said Zagunis, 19, of Beaverton, Ore., a freshman at Notre Dame who won the inaugural Olympic women's saber event in Athens.

"Here, it's a much more humble sport. You're doing it for yourself and for your team."

5 Olympians on hand
Zagunis and Jacobson, a freshman at Columbia who was 12th at the 2004 Athens Games in saber, are among five U.S. Olympic veterans competing in the NCAA fencing championships, which continue through Sunday in downtown Houston. But they're hardly the only fencers with competitive credentials that could challenge those of any power forward in the NCAA basketball field.

Kryczalo, a senior at Notre Dame from Gdansk, Poland, who competes in women's foil, will attempt this weekend to become the third fencer and the 32nd NCAA athlete in any sport to win a fourth consecutive national championship in the same individual event. Ellis, a sophomore from Israel who competes for Ohio State, on Friday won his second straight NCAA title in men's foil.

Soren Thompson of Princeton was seventh in men's epee in Athens, the best U.S. finish in that event since 1956, and third Friday in the NCAA epee tournament behind Michal Sobieraj of Notre Dame and Marek Petraszek of Wayne State, both of whom will seek spots on Poland's Olympic team in 2008.

But even if they have Olympic experience for the United States or another country, each of the 144 NCAA competitors is accustomed to laboring in relative obscurity. They're not bothered by the contrast between the hundreds of empty seats at the convention center and the sports bars filled with fans following the basketball tournament.

"We've got continuing live coverage ... nowhere," said Michael Galligan, a graduate of St. Pius High School in Houston who competes in foil for the University of Pennsylvania. "We're used to it. There have been times when I would go back to school Monday and people would ask, 'What is that?' when I told them I'd been fencing.

"But it's no problem. I love it. I'm the kid who played with sticks in the back yard and loved pirates and swashbuckling."

College fencers, unfortunately, have depressingly few outlets for their ardor. Only 35 NCAA schools, including 20 in Division I, sponsor varsity men's fencing. Forty-three schools, including 25 in Division I, have varsity women's teams. Only a fraction, including powerhouses Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State, offer fencing scholarships.

The picture is even bleaker in Texas. Rice, Houston, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, North Texas and Texas State offer fencing as a club sport, meaning the teams are not associated with or sanctioned by athletic departments. There are no NCAA varsity fencing programs in the state.

"That's a shame," said Penn State coach Emmanuil Kaidanov, whose teams have won nine of the last 14 NCAA titles. "Texas has excellent clubs, very powerful clubs. A lot of kids from Texas are competing for the national teams, and the clubs in San Antonio and Dallas and Houston are led by first-class professionals."

Houston's fencing heritage is limited but not without highlights. Princeton coach Michel Sebastiani, a former Olympic fencer for his native France, founded a fencing academy in Houston in the late 1970s. One of his students, Tim Glass, was selected for the U.S. Olympic team for the boycotted 1980 Moscow Games. Others were August Skopik, who competed for Texas A&M's club team and now owns a fencing academy in Katy, and Al Peters, who coached Rice's club team before leaving for Princeton and then for Cornell.

NCAA and local club coaches, however, report renewed interest in the wake of the U.S. team's two medals (Zagunis' gold and a bronze in saber for Sada Jacobson, Emily Jacobson's older sister) and improved showing in Athens.

Houston has 17 clubs registered through the U.S. Fencing Association with about 500 members, said Louise Lepie, who owns Bayou City Fencing Academy and is president of the association's Gulf Coast region. Skopik says that several young fencers from Houston are nationally ranked and predicts that some will grow into Olympic or college prospects.

'Can be the best'
The primary challenge facing the sport in the United States is the funding to support Olympic-caliber athletes like Thompson, who is in his final year at Princeton, once they leave college.

"If we can organize a system, the United States can be the best in the world," said Ohio State coach Vladimir Nazlymov, a three-time Olympic medalist for his native Russia. "We have to organize our country to take care of talented people."

If such a system evolves, the rewards can be unlimited, perhaps profound.

"I hope to be a role model for other young girls looking for a sport," said Zagunis, who hopes to stay in fencing through the 2008 Olympics and beyond. "I'm going to give back as much as I can to help it keep growing."

[LongBlade]

Women's Fencing Performing Well At NCAAs
Lions In Strong Positions After First Day of NCAAs

College Sports.com
March 20, 2005

www.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/032005aab.html


Alexie Rubin

Columbia fencers Emily Jacobson, Morgan Midgley and Alexie Rubin are all in good position to challenge for the gold medal after the first day of the women's competition at the NCAA Championships.

Jacobson won 11 of 14 bouts in women's sabre to trail Notre Dame's, Mariel Zagunis by two victories. Sophia Hiss of Penn State, the silver medalist from last year, is tied with Jacobson in second place.

Midgley and Rubin trail Holly Buechel of Penn by a single bout after the first three rounds of women's epee.

Complete results were not available at the time of this writing. More information to come.

[LongBlade]

Providenza's Motor Still Going Strong As Sophomore Sabre Takes Aim At More NCAA Success

Defending NCAA champion has battled through illness and a tough NCAA field for more impressive results on the national stage.

College Sports.com
March 20, 2005
By Greg Touney

Full Story: und.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/spec-rel/032005aac.html

HOUSTON - In Texas, a place that has thrived on the success of the oil business, perhaps the richest reserves in the Lone Star State on Saturday were found within Notre Dame's Valerie Providenza.


Valerie Providenza has battled
illness and a talented sabre field
(pictured) in her quest to repeat
as the NCAA champion and help
the Irish contend for the team title
(photo by Pete LaFleur).

Chances are good that Providenza would resort to fencing with an IV if the situation arose - that's how badly she wants the team to taste the same success she did last year as a freshman who won the women's sabre title.

"The team winning was my number-one goal coming into the NCAAs," Providenza says. "There are a lot of strong seniors that are leaving, so I feel that I owe it to myself and especially to the seniors to fence well."

Not much has gone according to plan for the Oregon native in the past few days. In the early hours of Friday morning, Providenza started feeling ill and was unable to hold down any food or water. An early-morning call to her parents - who were in town for the NCAAs - brought Providenza to the hospital where a series of tests were run to check on what was ailing her.

""It was really strange because I've had about four fevers in my entire life and I went through about three (Friday) night," explains Providenza. "I had an ultrasound and luckily nothing was wrong."

The effects on Providenza are clear to her and to her teammates.

"You can see she's exhausted, especially with long attacks," says Davis, who followed Providenza's action on Saturday, giving her many words of encouragement. "When she walks back to the line, you can tell that she gave all the energy she had."

"I'm definitely a lot slower and my reactions aren't as quick," Providenza says. "If you're slow, the other person's going to catch you. You need to change, and if you can't, you're pretty much at a loss."


Providenza defeated Penn
State's Sophie Hiss to win
the 2004 NCAA title (photo
by Pete LaFleur).

Providenza defeated Penn State's Sophie Hiss (pictured) to win the 2004 NCAA title (all photos by Pete LaFleur, unless otherwise noted).

Despite the ill affects of her challenging pre-bout experience, Providenza is positioning herself for another run at the women's sabre championship. That's an impressive feat, considering her physical health and the increased depth in the 2005 women's sabre field.

Not surprisingly, the two-time Junior Olympics champion has a history of overcoming adversity.

Last year, over a number of bouts, Providenza waged an intense battle with forme Ohio State standout Louise Bond-Williams, the '02 NCAA runner-up and a World Championship semifinalist. Bond-Williams - who is attendance this weekend rooting on the Buckeyes - took two of their first bouts in 2004, a 5-4 win at the ND Duals and a 15-8 victory in the finals of the MFC individual championships.

Then, Providenza turned the tables starting with a 5-4 win in the '04 Midwest Regional and a 5-1 triumph during the round-robin part of the '04 NCAAs. Her 18-4 round-robin record was good enough for third in the standings and she was pitted, fittingly, in the semifinal against Bond-Williams.

Down three times at 12-8, 13-10 and 14-11, the first-year sabre showed the patience of a veteran to battle back and tighten the bout before scoring the final two touches.

An emotional Providenza was not finished though.

"I cried after that bout," Providenza admits. "I had one more bout left, but Bond-Williams had been my toughest opponent all year. I actually sat down and cried because I was so happy and then I realize `Oh, I need to fence in 10 minutes - I need to stop crying'."

Providenza has made it a habit of overcoming obstacles during her Notre Dame fencing career.


Providenza has made it a habit
of overcoming obstacles during
her Notre Dame fencing career.

In the final, Providenza fell into a 7-4 hole against Penn State's Sophia Hiss. Once again, Providenza pulled through by winning 11 of the final 12 points to take the 15-8 win.

The person who had shown the heart of a champion finally had the gold to prove it.

This year, Providenza has had to deal with the challenges that come with an attempt at repeating.

Two close observers of the sophomore have noticed the renewed focus evident in Providenza.

"I think that Valerie's motivation now is much greater than during her freshman year," head coach Janusz Bednarski says. "Last year she did well, but I think she was much more occupied with academics and beginning the new college life. This year she seems much more focused.

"It's not the same Valerie as last year."

Her sabre captain agrees.

"I think she wants to prove to everyone that it wasn't a fluke freshman year," says Davis, who provided a veteran presence to the young sabre squad this season by returning to the team during her first year at Notre Dame's Law School.


Providenza (back right) combines
with four fellow 2004 All-Americans
(kneeling, from left) foilist Andrea
Ament, epeeist Kerry Walton,
(standing, from left) epeeist Amy
Orlando and foilist Alicja Kryczalo
- plus freshman sabre Mariel
Zagunis to give the Irish women
an elite six-fencer contingent at
the 2005 NCAAs.

"This year the competition in women's sabre is a lot harder than it was last year, but Valerie is just as good a fencer as anyone in the field."

Providenza - who joins classmates Patrick Ghattas and Angela Vincent and freshman Mariel Zagunis as the four Oregon Fencing Alliance products on the 2005 Irish squad - credits the "family" atmosphere of the Notre Dame fencing squad in helping her get through the NCAAs. She's doing the best to return the favor by fencing to her maximum potential.

Countless times, Providenza has dug deep within herself to summon the strength needed to help the Irish reclaim the NCAA title.

You can see it in her eyes. Although weary and exhausted, they still show the grit and focus of a proven winner.

You can hear it in her trademark scream that she belts out after scoring an important touch.

You notice it when - after she completes her bouting and desperately needs rest to recover her strength - she stays to cheer on teammates still fencing.

Clearly for Providenza, the well inside herself has not run dry.

After suffering from food poisoning, a viral infection and dehydration that made her five pounds lighter, the sophomore sabre turned in a gutsy performance to help her team climb back into contention at the 2005 NCAA Combined Fencing Championships.

Fighting exhaustion, Providenza went 10-4 on her first day of action in Houston. Despite her win total being good enough for a third-place tie, the '04 NCAA champion was not content with her performance.

"I came in hoping to win again this year," Providenza explains. "But after getting sick and then coming here and not fencing as well as I think I could, I really don't know if it's still a shot, but if it's anywhere possible I'm still going to try for it.

"Tomorrow's another day."

With her recent illness, Providenza definitely is competing against more than simpley her fellow fencers. If anyone has the heart to defeat both these "opponents," it might be Providenza.

Sabre captain Danielle Davis agrees.

"I talked to her when she was sick and told her, `Valerie, if you don't feel well, you don't have to fence.'

"And then I paused and neither of us said anything and then I said `Valerie, I'm lying - you've got to fence. There's no choice. If you have an IV in your arm, we're going to put you on the strip'."

[LongBlade]

En garde! National title will be decided today
Zagunis looking to help Notre Dame continue its surge

By DAVID BARRON
Houston Chronicle3/20/05

www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3093823

Mariel Zagunis and Emily Jacobson will compete against each other at least once today, the final day of the NCAA fencing championships at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Then they'll leave later in the week for the junior world championships in Linz, Austria, where each will compete for a second world title.

If there were strained feelings between two of the world's best women's saber fencers, it could make for some long, long days staring at each other on the fencing strip or sitting together on airplanes or at arenas.

Fortunately, Zagunis, a freshman at Notre Dame, and Jacobson, a freshman at Columbia, get along famously. Their friendship has helped them duplicate in fencing the recent trend of U.S. women excelling in new Olympic sports.

Zagunis, the 2001 world junior champion, won the inaugural Olympic gold medal last year in women's saber. Jacobson, the 2004 world junior champion, was 12th at the Olympics, and her older sister, Sada, won the bronze.

"We go through so much together — travel, plane trips and events — so I'm glad she's such a great girl and we get along so well," Zagunis said. "Not only are we good sparring partners, we're great teammates."

Their match in the round-robin portion of today's NCAA championships could play a crucial role in the team competition. Notre Dame enters the final day of the four-day meet, which combines men's and women's scores, with 129 points to 142 for defending champion Ohio State and 134 for St. John's.

Fencers receive one point for each victory in addition to points in individual event standings, where the top four finishers in the 24-member field advance to the medal rounds.

If they hold their current positions, Zagunis and Jacobson could meet in today's semifinals. Zagunis won 13 of 14 matches Saturday, losing only to Sophia Hiss of Penn State, who was second at 11-3, in her final match of the day 5-3. Jacobson is third, also with 11 wins, but trails Hiss in point differential.

Other event leaders entering the final round-robin matches today are Jacqueline Leahy of Princeton and Erzsebet Garay of St. John's in foil, each with 13 wins, and Holly Buechel of Penn with 11 wins in epee.Alicja Kryczalo of Notre Dame, seeking her fourth straight NCAA title in foil, is third in the round robin with 12 wins.

Ohio State has led throughout the meet, building a 10-point lead after the men's finals Friday, but lost two points to St. John's in the first day of women's fencing.

The Buckeyes have only five female fencers entered to six for St. John's, so the Redmen will need big days today from epee fencers Reka Szele and Joanna Guy to cut into Ohio State's lead. Szele and Guy, each of whom finished 7-7 Saturday, will fence OSU's Kaela Brendler, who was 8-6 on Saturday, in today's round robin.

Notre Dame made the biggest jump in the standings Saturday, leapfrogging perennial power Penn State into third place with 59 points from its women's fencers to 42 for Penn State, 50 for St. John's and 48 for Ohio State.

Penn State is fourth overall with 129 points, followed by Columbia/Barnard in fifth with 110 and Harvard with 106.

[LongBlade]

Nice article on Blind Fencing!

Reporter finds it even harder than it looks
By James Whitters, Boston Globe
March 20, 2005

www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/20/reporter_finds_it_even_harder_than_it_looks/

What was I thinking?

Only moments before, I had been in command. Walking, talking, even scribbling a few lines in my notebook, as I watched Eric Sollee guide his blind fencers through a class at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton.

Now I was a bumbling fool, incapable of going anywhere, or doing anything, without assistance.

I was out of my element the second I slipped on a black blindfold, clumsily covered my face with a fencing mask, and grabbed my foil.

I was blind fencing.

Well, not quite. What I was doing was far too clumsy to be called fencing, a sport that resembles a two-person ballet with padded vests and pointy blades.

What I was doing was standing in the middle (I think it was the middle) of a classroom with Sollee's hands softly guiding the index, middle, and ring fingers of my right hand into a proper grip.

I had been holding my foil too tight -- way too tight -- as if I were expecting a pirate attack.

''Easy, there you go," Sollee said patiently as he loosened my death grip. ''You want to hold it lightly in your first three fingers, so you can feel what you're doing."

Yes, my sense of touch, I'd need that. Along with hearing, it was all I had left, as Sollee positioned me in front of my opponent, Rabih Dow, the Carroll Center's brave rehabilitation services director.

There was only one problem: My sense of touch is duller than seventh-grade math.

A blind fencing bout begins with the participants touching foils. It's a rule unique to blind fencing that allows competitors to get a feel for their opponent's position.

I heard the sound of our metal foils rubbing together, but I felt next to nothing. When Dow asked me to gently prod him to get a sense of what a ''touch" felt like, Sollee had to interrupt the exercise before I impaled the poor man.

My foil was stuck in Dow's chest. Again, I felt little.

That was OK because I wasn't much of a threat. Even with Dow standing still and Sollee guiding me through a basic attacking move called a ''beat," where I knocked Dow's blade aside and then thrust forward, my foil missed Dow's right shoulder by 3 feet.

''A little more this way," Dow, who is blind himself, encouraged.

As I fumbled to regrip my foil, I thought about Sollee and his first experience fencing blindfolded.

Sollee was an All-American at Harvard. He was a New England champion in all three fencing disciplines (foil, epee, and saber). He knew what he was doing.

In the mid 1960s, the Carroll Center's first fencing instructor, BU coach Larry Dargie, invited Sollee to take on three of the center's best fencers. Sollee lost all three matches -- badly.

''I didn't know what I was doing," Sollee said with a laugh.

That was reassuring because neither did I, a fact that became crystal clear the moment Sollee showed me a standard counterattacking move.

The trick to blind fencing is keeping track of the position of your foil and your body in relation to your opponent. This takes serious concentration without sight. You have to keep a running mental catalog of your previous moves, and, using your sense of touch and hearing, your opponent's.

It's like chess, only quicker, blindfolded, and with weapons.

It's also the reason fencing is taught at the Carroll Center. Moving independently without sight takes exceptional spatial awareness. You have to be acutely aware at all times of where you are, where you've been, where you're going, all while using a cane to keep tabs on your ever-changing relationship to the mobile and stationary objects around you.

I failed from the start.

Dow lunged toward me, missing on purpose. I stepped backward to avoid his thrust. Now, with Dow in a vulnerable position, I was supposed to simply thrust my foil forward into his chest. It sounds easy. But I lost my way. Thinking I needed to first step forward, I bumped into Dow, drawing a laugh.

''Are you ready for some coffee?" he asked.

I quickly removed my mask and lifted my blindfold. I'd never wanted a cup more.

[LongBlade]

Notre Dame Claims 7th National Fencing Title
Four Irish women fencers advance to the semifinals.

CollegeSports.com
March 20, 2005


Notre Dame fencing
surged past rival
Ohio State.


The Notre Dame fencing team completed a two day comeback from a 24-point deficit, surging past midwest rival Ohio State in the final bouts to claim the programs 7th national title. Four Irish women fencers advance to the semifinals with those bouts beginning at 1:15 CST. It's a combined men's and women's championship over four days. Check back to und.com for a more complete recap.

[LongBlade]

Women's Fencing Performing Well At NCAAs
Lions In Strong Positions After First Day of NCAAs

CollegeSports.com
March 20, 2005

www.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/032005aab.html

Columbia fencers Emily Jacobson, Morgan Midgley and Alexie Rubin are all in good position to challenge for the gold medal after the first day of the women's competition at the NCAA Championships.

Jacobson won 11 of 14 bouts in women's sabre to trail Notre Dame's, Mariel Zagunis by two victories. Sophia Hiss of Penn State, the silver medalist from last year, is tied with Jacobson in second place.

Midgley and Rubin trail Holly Buechel of Penn by a single bout after the first three rounds of women's epee.

Complete results were not available at the time of this writing. More information to come.

[LongBlade]

FENCING: National champions

The Notre Dame Observer
By Eric Retter
March 21, 2005

www.ndsmcobserver.com/news/2005/03/21/Sports/Fencing.National.Champions-898523.shtml

HOUSTON - There were a lot of smiles on Sunday afternoon when Katia Larchanka of St. John's touched Ohio State's Metta Thompson to secure victory in the pair's women's foil bout.
Those happy faces all belonged to the men and women of the Notre Dame fencing team, who saw themselves move into sole possession of first place at the first and best time. Moments earlier, senior Irish foilist Alicja Kryczalo defeated Columbia's Cassidy Luitjen to give the Irish at least a shared title, but with Thompson's loss, the Irish clinched their seventh national championship and their second in three years, edging Ohio State 173-171.
"Overall I'm so happy with everybody. It came down to the wire, and that's the most exciting way to win," senior epee captain Kerry Walton said.
The Irish qualified 11 out of a possible 12 fencers for the tournament, with only freshman Jakub Jedrkowiak representing Notre Dame in men's foil, but despite this, the team entered the weekend more than optimistic with regards to their chances to win their first team title since 2003.
"As a team, we had really, really high expectations. Every year we come in expecting to win, and especially this year because Ohio State only qualified 11, that was huge for us," said sophomore sabre Matt Stearns.
Stearns joined his four other teammates in competition Thursday and Friday, as the men took to the strips first in the championships. Senior epeeist Michal Sobieraj led the team, going 18-5 in the round robin before beating Ohio State's Denis Tolkachev and Wayne State's Marek Petraszek in the semifinals and finals to claim his first individual NCAA title.
In his semifinal bout with longtime rival Tolkachev, Sobieraj avenged his 5-4 loss in the round robin, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and cruising to a 15-9 victory. In the finals, Sobieraj again took an early lead, going up 9-4. However, Petraszek fought back to make it tense, closing the scoring to 14-13 before Sobieraj scored the final touch to claim his victory. Continued... 1 of 5 pages

[LongBlade]

Berkowsky and Buechel make fencing 1st teams

The Daily Pennsylvanian
By josh wheeling
March 21, 2005

www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/21/423e7f6a3fbd2


Ron Berkowsky fences against Rutgers.
He took home the bronze medal and
All-America honors at this weekend's
NCAA Fencing Championships.

He's only a freshman, but there isn't much higher that Penn fencer Ron Berkowsky can go.
After winning the foil competition at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association championship, Berkowsky finished third at this weekend's NCAA Championships held at Rice University in Houston.

With the third-place finish came a bronze medal and first-team All-America honors, but he wasn't the only Quakers fencer to earn a spot among the nation's elite.

Sophomore epee fencer Holly Buechel came in fourth place in the women's competition, landing her on the first team as well.

Penn finished seventh out of the 33 teams at the event. Coach Dave Micahnik was satisfied with the overall finish, but was thrilled with the way Buechel and Berkowsky fought.

"They were both technically precise and both were consistent," Micahnik said. "It's very difficult to get a result like that if you're hot and cold. It takes a particularly high level of concentration to go bout after bout after bout and not have letdowns, so I was extraordinarily pleased with their performances."

Berkowsky has come on strong as a freshman at the time when it counts most -- the end of the year tournaments.

He came out of nowhere to win the gold medal for the men's foil at the IFA's last month as well as claiming the bronze in the NCAA's this weekend. He was happy to be able to compete in the tournament, let alone win a medal.

"Going in I was just ecstatic that I was able to go," Berkowsky said. "At the beginning I said to myself 'It's such a privilege to be here, just go out and do your best,' but by the end of the first day of competition I had come out ranked second. I knew I could pull this off if I kept at it and fenced my heart out, and lo and behold, at the end of the day I got the bronze medal.

"I'm not sure how I was able to do it, but I was able to stay focused for most of the day. I was completely exhausted at the end of the first day to the point that I could barely hold my foil. I'm completely ecstatic and excited."

Micahnik was overjoyed with the way Berkowsky fought, as the freshman ranked third in a field that also contained two former champions. Micahnik can see his improvement over the course of the season.

"He's improved not only technically but tactically, and that has made his results go way up," the veteran coach said.

Buechel fenced particularly well for the women, especially in the team competition. She was first in the round-robin competition, going 18-5, and she placed fourth in the women's epee after losing her final two matches. She was happy to make first-team All-America for the second straight year. However, her performance in her final two matches left her with a sour taste in her mouth.

"I'm pretty happy because I'm first-team All-America, which is really incredible because only three other people can say that in my weapon, but I was disappointed with my end result," Buechel said. "It's kind of frustrating to lose twice and end up fourth because I was seeded first after the pool. That's the game. After so many bouts you're just exhausted, and by then my body was done."

Micahnik felt the sophomore's draw at the end of the competition was unlucky.

"Holly was fencing pretty well, so she had the top seed, but she drew two people that had her number, and that was kind of unfortunate," Micahnik said.

The championships began with a round-robin team competition among the 24 fencers at each weapon, so each fencer fought 23 bouts. The fencers with the best records then moved on to the final four. The winners of each 15-touch bout competed next for the gold, while the losers each competed in the bronze medal match.

Out of the 144 men and women fighting in the competition, Penn was represented by seven fencers. They each had to qualify through regional qualifiers and from their overall accomplishments throughout the season. Foil fencers Michael Galligan and Berkowsky fought on the men's side of the tournament, while Buechel, Eve Overton, Katelyn Sherry, Cassandra Frey, and Christina Kaneshige in the women's side. The teams were carried by Buechel, who finished fourth in the women's epee competition, and Berkowsky who finished third in the men's foil, earning him a bronze medal.

Galligan and Sherry placed sixth and ninth in their respective weapons.

[LongBlade]

St. John's Finishes Third in NCAA Fencing Championships
Red Storm Post 11th-Straight Top-Five Finish in the Country

CollegeSports.com
March 20, 2005

Full Story: www.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/032005aaf.html

Queens, NY - It's a sport that most people think about only when the Olympics are upon us. It's not one that college sports fans think of automatically. But when it comes to college fencing, the names of four schools typically come to mind.

One of those four is St. John's University. And the 12-member contingent of student-athletes representing the University at the 2005 NCAA Fencing Championships in Houston, Texas this weekend added to the legacy of Red Storm fencing. Led by an incredible performance from sophomore Erzsebet Garay (Budapest, Hungary), the St. John's fencing team combined for 162 points to finish third overall.

Notre Dame captured the team championship, coming from behind to beat Ohio State. The Fighting Irish won the title with 173 bout victories, two ahead of the Buckeyes. St. John's finished 11 bouts behind Notre Dame in third place, while Penn State finished fourth with 145.

[LongBlade]

Ohio State Fencing Places Second At NCAA Championship
Notre Dame edges Buckeyes by two points for national title

CollegeSports.com
March 20, 2005

ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/c-fenc/recaps/032005aaa.html

COLUMBUS, Ohio - - The Ohio State fencing squad fell, 173-171, to Notre Dame for the national title at the 2005 NCAA Championship in Houston, Texas. After the men's competition, the Buckeyes were in the lead by 10 points over St. John's. The Fighting Irish completed a two day comeback in the women's portion from a 24-point deficit to claim the national championship.

In women's sabre, freshman Siobhan Byrne (Eislingen, Germany/Freihof) finished third for the Buckeyes with 17 victories, while freshman Amelia Gaillard (Fayetteville, Ga./Counterpane) placed seventh. Sophomore Kaela Brendler (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) was the lone Buckeye in epee action and placed fifth after 15 wins.

In foil competition, senior Hanna Thompson (Rochester, N.Y./East) took the No. 6 spot with 16 victories, while senior Metta Thompson (Rochester, N.Y./East) finished in tenth.

In foil competition, senior Hanna Thompson (Rochester, N.Y./East) took the No. 6 spot with 16 victories, while senior Metta Thompson (Rochester, N.Y./East) finished in tenth.

Ohio State sophomore foilist Boaz Ellis (Moshav Zippori, Israel/Chaklai Nahalal) won his second national championship after a 15-8 victory over New York's Gabriel Sinkin. Ellis came in as the second seed in the semifinal round after he defeated bronze medal winner Ronald Berkowsky from Pennsylvania in quarterfinal action.

NCAA Championship Complete Results
Team Standings
1. Notre Dame, 173
2. Ohio State, 171
3. St. John's, 162
4. Penn State, 145
5. Columbia, 137
6. Harvard, 134
7. Pennsylvania, 85
8. Princeton, 77
9. New York, 68
10. Wayne State, 58