March 7, 2015
DURHAM, N.C. - Today, selected fencers chosen to represent Penn State at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/Southern Regional competed and dominated much of the competition in Durham, N.C. today. All competing Penn State fencers finished in the top 20 for their events with most finishing in the top ten. Eleven fencers qualified to move on and compete at the national championship in two weeks.
Penn State saw stand out performances from sophomore Oskar Tang* (Stockholm, Sweden), and freshmen Andrew Mackiewicz* (Westwood Mass), and Karen Chang* (Hong Kong) who all finished 1st place in their events of men's epee, men's saber, and women's saber.
Nobuo Bravo* (San Francisco, Calif.) had a strong performance on the day finishing 3rd place in his event of men's foil. Also competing in the event, junior David Gomez-Tanamachi* finished 7th, sophomore Nicolas Graziano (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished 10th followed by sophomore Howie Chan (Hong Kong) finishing 11th.
Junior Kaito Streets* (Redwood City, Calif.) locked in 2nd place in his event of men's saber while freshman Khalil Thompson* (Teaneck, N.J.) finished 8th and sophomore Adam Lewicki (Oakland, N.J.) finished 12th.
In men's epee, sophomore Conor Shepard* (Colleyville, Texas) finished 8th while junior Farzaan Karimi (Midfield, Mass.) finished 10th and junior Yasser Mahmoud (Quincy, Mass.) finished 13th.
In women's epee, sophomore Jessie Radanovich* (Fresno, Calif.) finished 4th while junior Jessica O'Neill-Lyublinsky (North Salem, N.Y.) and freshman Julia Higson (State College, Pa.) finished 16th and 29th on the day respectively.
Junior Clarisse Luminet* (Lyon, France) finished 2nd in her event of women's foil. Other notable finishes include sophomore Desree Ortega-Furgeson (Wyoming, Mich.) who finished 15th and seniors Alina Antokhina* (Moscow, Russia) and Kane Gladnick (Wynnewood, Pa.) who finished 8th and 18th, respectively.
Freshman Kathryn Charpin* (Setauket, N.Y.) had a solid performance and managed to finish 2nd for the day in women's saber. Other notable finishes include sophomore Teodora Kakihani* (Tbilisi, Georgia) and senior Elizabeth Rapp (Portland, Ore.) who finished 5th and 8th, respectively.
As a team, the Nittany Lions look to capture another national title as they are set to compete at the NCAA National Championship on March 19th-22nd in Columbus, Ohio. Penn State will be searching for its 14th National Championship, and its fourth in the last seven years.
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*-Qualifier