March 21, 2013
SAN ANTONIO, TX - The Penn State men's and women's fencing team is in first place in the overall team standings after the day one of the 2013 NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions accumulated 63 points through the first three rounds of the men's events. This is a commanding 12 point lead over second place Princeton. Harvard and Notre Dame are tied for third place with 50 team points.
Penn State is the only team to have six fencers finish within the top ten of their respective events. Four of those six finished within the top five.
The Nittany Lions were the only team with two men's foil members in the top five at the end of day one. David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) sits in third place after winning 12 of his 15 bouts. Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) defeated 11 of his 15 opponents, which puts him in fifth place. Willette and Chamley-Watson, who boast a combined five All-American nods, will both look to earn their first individual title tomorrow when the competition resumes.
The Nittany Lions also had two men's saber members in the top five at the end of day one. Team captain Adrian Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) defeated 13 of 15 competitors to finish in second place. Bak will look to make his first appearance in the medal round tomorrow, and capture his third All-American status. Freshman Shaul Gordon (Richmond, Canada) won 10 of his 15 bouts, putting him in fifth place.
Penn State ended the first three rounds with two members in the top ten of men's epee. Sophomore Benjamin Russell (Indiana, Pa.) ended day one in seventh place, after defeating nine of his 15 opponents. Senior Vernon O'Garra (Huntington, N.Y.) sits in tenth place after winning eight of his 15 bouts.
Men's rounds four and five will be completed tomorrow morning. The top four in each event will move on to the medal rounds, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Starting at 2:45 p.m. ESPN3 will be airing the NCAA Fencing Championships presented by Northwestern Mutual. Viewers wishing to watch the men's late round and final can do so here: ESPN3 Live Coverage
The women's competition will begin on Saturday, and will follow the same schedule as the men's events.
Recaps and results from each day of the 2013 National Championship will be available on gopsusports.com.