March 12, 2016
BETHLEHEM, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State fencing team had a commanding performance at today's NCAA Mid-Atlantic / South Regionals, seeing Nittany Lions win two events and come in the top-three in four of six weapons.
Despite a last minute location change due to a norovirus outbreak at host Lafayette, 11 fencers ended in the top-10 on the day. The Nittany Lions saw action against Drew, Duke, Farleigh-Dickinson, Haverford, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, Princeton, Stevens, Temple and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The competition started at Moravian College with both men's and women's foil and epee events. Senior Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.) took home first place in men's foil, with junior Conor Shepard (Colleyville, Texas) and senior Jessica O'Neill-Lyublinsky (North Salem, N.Y.) both taking home second place in men's and women's epee. Junior captain Jessie Radanovich (Tollhouse, Calif.) finished just behind O'Neill-Lyublinsky, coming in an impressive third place.
The men's sabre squad hammered the competition at Moravian, nearly sweeping the event. Sophomore Andrew Mackiewicz (Westwood, Mass.) took home first place on the day, with freshman Karol Metryka (Linden, N.J.) coming in third place. Senior captain Kaito Streets (Redwood City, Calif.) and sophomore Khalil Thompson (Teaneck, N.J.) rounded out the event for the Nittany Lions, coming in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Finishing top-10 for the women was junior Teodora Kakhiani (Tbilisi, Georgia), sophomore Kathryn Charpin (Setauket, N.Y.) and freshman Anastasia Kalonji (Rennes, France). Kakhiani and Charpin both competed in the sabre event, ending in fourth and seventh place, respectively. Kalonji fenced in the epee event and finished eighth on the day.
The remaining results are as followed:
Men's foil: junior Howie Chan (Walnut, Calif.) ââ'¬" 12th; junior Nicolas Graziano (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ââ'¬" 17th; freshman Julian Fevry (St. Albans, N.Y.) ââ'¬" 18th.
Men's epee: freshman Joshua Cole (Chappaqua, N.Y.) ââ'¬" 13th; junior Patrick August (Las Vegas, Nev.) ââ'¬" 14th; freshman Anton Piskovatskov (Houston, Texas) ââ'¬" 17 tie.
Women's foil: sophomore Kasey Iverson (Basking Ridge, N.J.) ââ'¬" 14th; junior Desree Ortega-Furgeson (Wyoming, Mich.) ââ'¬" 16th; sophomore Najiyyah Clark (Maplewood, N.J.) ââ'¬" 27 tie.
Women's sabre: freshman DeAna Oliver (Montclair, N.J.) ââ'¬" 16th; freshman Erin McLoughlin (San Jose, Costa Rica) ââ'¬" 18th.
The Nittany Lions will be setting their sights on the NCAA Championship, held in Boston Thursday, March 24 ââ'¬" Sunday, March 27.
The qualification process for the NCAA Championship will be based off of a combination of the fencers' season record and today's results. The fencers' season statistics will count towards 40 percent of the qualification, with the final 60 percent coming from the fencers' performance this weekend.
After the results have been combined with each fencer's season record, the qualifiers are chosen based off of each weapon and gender's specific allocation amount. While each weapon and gender have different specifications, no team may send more than two fencers per gender, per weapon to the championship. In order to have the best chance at taking the title, the Lions are hoping to send two per gender and weapon.
Penn State fans are encouraged to follow Penn State fencing via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pennstateFEN, on Penn State Fencing's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pennstatefencing and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/pennstateFEN.