Jan. 19, 2010
SAN JOSE, Calif. - At the conclusion of the NAC D Tournament yesterday, the saber and epee competitions proved to be the strongest weapons for the Penn State fencers who competed in the four-day tournament.
In the women's epee, senior Anastasia Ferdman (Maalot, Israel) finished tied for ninth and right behind her in 11th place was senior teammate Keri Byerts (Webster, N.Y.). Ferdman is the current reigning national champion in the epee competition and continues to make an argument for a fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.
In the saber, senior Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.) finished in 10th place in the women's competition and sophomore Aleksander Ochocki (Clark, N.J.) finished in 11th in the men' competition. Both Thompson and Ochocki made it to the NCAA tournament last season, with Ochocki winning the national title last March. Freshman Jessica Russo (Wayne, N.J.) also competed in the tournament individually and finished in 14th place.
The foil was the least strong of the three weapons, with junior captain Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) having the best finish at 17th place in the women's competition. In the men's competition, sophomore Michael El-Saleh (Houston, Texas) finished in 22nd place, followed by freshman Daniel Gomez-Tanamachi in 24th place. Senior captain Nick Chinman (Boulder, Colo.) finished in 34th place and freshman David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) came in 42nd.
In Copenhagen at the Senior World Cup, sophomore Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished in 19th place. Chamley-Watson hopes to earn back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament after an outstanding freshman season. Results from this tournament can be found at theCopenhagen Cup Results.
The fencers will host their next dual meet this Saturday Jan. 23 starting at 8:30 a.m in Penn State's White Building. Results will be posted following the end of the dual on gopsusports.com.