March 25, 2018
By Tom Shively, GoPSUsports.com student staff writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After two days of women's competition, it was time for the men to take center stage at the NCAA Fencing National Championships Saturday. A full slate of bouts started at 9 a.m. and went well into the afternoon, encompassing epée, foil and saber events.
The latter featured two Penn State standouts, both with NCAA experience in the past. Senior Andrew Mackiewicz has already won the national championship twice in saber. Junior Karol Metryka reached the NCAA Championships last year, now looking to get to the top this time around.
Despite the prior experience of participating at the sport's highest level, it's hard not to marvel at the challenge of the path these fencers face to potentially win a national championship.
"It's a little nerve-wracking," Mackiewicz said. "It's different from other competitions in that it's longer. You have to be so laser-focused and consistent bout after bout. If you lose one, you can't let it get to you and you just have to keep moving forward."
The saber competition consists of 23 bouts for each fencer, 15 taking place Saturday and eight Sunday, with the four best athletes advancing to the semifinals Sunday afternoon. There are 24 fencers in the competition, meaning everyone will fence against each other one time.
The competition comes at a fast pace, with each bout only lasting about two or three minutes, which elevates the need for mental strength and the ability to treat each bout as its own entity without overthinking anything.
"You have the best fencers in the country here and they're all competing at such a high level that it can be draining," Mackiewicz said. "We're all in good shape and we've all been training all year and are capable of doing the same thing. At the end of the day, it comes down to who can mentally tough it out."
Mackiewicz won 11 bouts Saturday to finish day one in fourth place overall in the saber. Metryka finished strong on the day, winning six of his last seven bouts to finish with nine on the day, good for ninth in the saber standings.
During one of Metryka's round two bouts, he put a fancy move on Ohio State fencer Domenick Koch to secure a touch, drawing the appreciation of Koch, who stopped and shook hands with Metryka mid-bout. This type of event is not out of the ordinary by any means.
"That's just something that happens if it is a nice touch," Metryka said. "Everyone is trying to beat everyone else, but at the same time we all respect each other. So if you get a really nice touch, sometime they'll come congratulate you."
Another thing hardly out of the ordinary is yelling. A lot of yelling. The student-athletes yell after almost every point, and for a few different reasons.
"You pour your heart into this. Every touch, you want that touch so bad and you get amped up and you use your voice." Mackiewicz said. "It's kind of a way to persuade the referee as well to get him to know that it was your touch."
Besides influencing the referees, it gives the athletes a much-needed boost of energy.
"It's about pumping yourself up too so that you're more into the bout and emotions are a little more into it," Metryka said.
The fencers aren't the only ones yelling, as the tournament setup allows for fans to be right up front next to the action, making for a loud and live environment.
No school benefits more from this than Penn State, who, with the tournament being essentially a home event, naturally drew a large contingent of Blue and White faithful.
"If the fans are giving you a lot of energy and voice, you definitely feed off of it and use that energy throughout the day. It keeps you amped up for your bouts," Mackiewicz said.
"Obviously, you're going to win some and you're going to lose some, having 23 bouts in two days. If you're losing, the crowd definitely helps you get back in it quickly," Metryka said.
The event has a quick turnaround, as the athletes resume competition again tomorrow morning. While Mackiewicz and Metryka are both in the top 10 at the moment, there is always room for improvement.
"I just need to be more consistent." Mackiewicz said. "I gave up four bouts today and at least two of them I think I shouldn't have. If I win all of them tomorrow, I should be fine in terms of making the semifinal and final matches."