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• Saturday's men's epee final at the MFCs – between Notre Dame senior Karol Kostka and Ohio State freshman Igor Tolkachev (St. Petersburg, Russia) – brought back memories of another recent ND-OSU men's epee rivalry, involving Tolkachev's brother Denis and ND's Michal Sobieraj ... Sobieraj (who fenced for ND from 2002-05) and Kostka both are natives of Krakow, Poland, with each attending the same high school (First Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Bartlomieja Nowodworskiego) and training at the same club (AZS-AWF Krakow) ... the "reincarnation" of the Sobieraj-Tolkachev rivalry produced a thrilling MFC title bout, with Kostka capturing the narrow 15-14 win.

• Kostka entered the day as the #3 seed and moved up to #1 for the 80-fencer, direct-elimination phase, after going 7-0 (+28) in his pool bouts ... Tolkachev was the #4 initial seed, but he dropped to #14 for the DE (he was 6-1/+17 in the pools) – with his loss coming to #77 seed Rich Molina of ND (3-5).

• Tolkachev recovered from the lower DE seeding by defeating Cleveland State's John Marshall in a round-of-16 defensive battle (9-8), followed by a 15-8 quarterfinal win over OSU teammate Eric Gurnowski and a 15-12 semifinal against ND's Jacob Osborne ... Kostka beat #8 Chris Pinkowski (ND) in a 15-10 quarterfinal before knocking off two-time NCAA champion Slava Zingerman (Wayne State) in a 15-12 semifinal (Zingerman was the pre-tournament top seed and #4 for the DE; 7-0/+23 in pools).

• Osborne was the #8 initial seed and #10 for the DE, after going 6-1/+19 in the pools (his loss came to Chicago's Alex Chi, 4-5) ... he went on to defeat ND teammate Conor Gettings in the round-of-16 (15-9), followed by a huge win over co-#1 Jason Pryor of OSU (15-12 semifinal) and the semifinal loss against Tolkachev ... Zingerman had a 15-12 win over #4 Greg Schoolcraft (ND) in the quarterfinals, before losing to Kostka.

• Two of the final-8 men's epeeists reached that round following major fluctuations in their seedings ... OSU's Gurnowski was the initial #6 seed, but he plummeted to #43 for the DE, after going 3-4 (+4) in the pools ... Gurnowski battled back into the mix with a key round-of-16 win over #6 Mykhaylo Mazur (15-10), a former OSU All-American who now is fencing for Wayne State (Tolkachev then beat Gurnowski in the quarters) ... ND's Pinkowski entered the day with a low seed (#32) but surged to #8 (6-1 in pools/+20), with an eventual round-of-16 win over co-#8 Andy Snell of Cleveland State (15-14) before the loss to Kostka.

* The final top-16 included five different fencers who entered the day seeded outside the top-16: OSU's Dylan Walrond (#70), Michigan's Bill Kolodzey (#38), ND's Gettings (#27) and Pinkowski (#32), and CSU's Snell (#19) ... Waldron made the huge jump to a #12 DE seed, after going 6-1 (+18) in the pools (he ultimately was eliminated by Zingerman in the round-of-16, in a 15-13 bout) ... Kolodzey's jump (#38 to #20; 5-2/+15 in polls) was followed later in the day with a final loss to #4 Schoolcraft of ND (15-9, round-of-16) ... Gettings moved up from a #27 seed to #7 (6-1 in pools/+21, featuring a 5-1 win over OSU's Gurnowski).

• Conversely, there were five initial top-16 seeds who failed to finish among the final-16: ND's Andy Seroff (#10 initial seed, finished 19th), OSU's Sean Harder (#12/33rd), Avi Somir (#13/17th) and Bishar Korkor (#14/30th) and Northwestern's Phil Szalwinski (#16/24th).

• OSU veteran Pryor advanced past ND's Brent Kelly in the round-of-16 (15-1) before getting tripped up by another ND fencer, Osborne.

• Results for the final-16 men's epee fencers are included below (upsets, based on DE seeding, are in italics). A final list for the top-16 (including their initial seeds and adjusted/pre-DE seeding) also is included below, as are names of the #17-#25 finishers:

MFC Men's Epee Round-of-16
(1) Karol Kostka (ND) def. (16) Davidson Barr (NW) ... 15-9
(1) Jason Pryor (OSU) def. (15) Brent Kelly (ND) ... 15-10
(14) Igor Tolkachev (ND) def. (3) John Marshall (CSU) ... 9-8
(4) Greg Schoolcraft (ND) def. (20) Bill Kolodzey (MICH) ... 15-9
(5) Slava Zingerman (WSU) def. (12) Dylan Walrond (OSU) ... 15-13
(43) Eric Gurnowski (OSU) def. (6) Mykhaylo Mazur (WSU) ... 15-10
(10) Jacob Osborne (ND) def. (7) Conor Gettings (ND) ... 15-9
(8) Chris Pinkowski (ND) def. (8) Andy Snell (CSU) ... 15-14

Quarterfinals
(1) Karol Kostka (ND) def. (8) Chris Pinkowski (ND) ... 15-10
(10) Jacob Osborne (ND) def. (1) Jason Pryor (OSU) ... 15-12
(14) Igor Tolkachev (ND) def. (43) Eric Gurnowski (OSU) ... 15-8
(5) Slava Zingerman (WSU) def. (4) Greg Schoolcraft (ND) ... 15-12

Semifinals
(1) Karol Kostka (ND) def. (5) Slava Zingerman (WSU) ... 15-12
(14) Igor Tolkachev (ND) def. (10) Jacob Osborne (ND) ... 15-12

Final
(1) Karol Kostka (ND) def. (14) Igor Tolkachev (ND) ... 15-14

2009 MFC Men's Epee Final Top-25 Data (field of 80)

1. Karol Kostka  (Notre Dame)   ...   #3 initial seed/#1 pre-DE   ...   7-0 in pools (+28)
2. Igor Tolkachev  (Ohio State)   ...  #4/#14   ...   6-1 in pools (+17)
3. Slava Zingerman  (Wayne State)   ...   #1/#4   ...   7-0 in pools (+23)
3. Jacob Osborne  (ND)   ...   #8/#10   ...   6-1 in pools (+19)
5. Jason Pryor  (OSU)   ...   #2/#1   ...   6-0 in pools (+26) 
6. Greg Schoolcraft  (ND)   ...   #9/#4   ...   7-0 in pools (+23)
7. Chris Pinkowski  (ND)   ...   #32/#8   ...   6-1 in pools (+20)     
8. Eric Gurnowski  (OSU)   ...  #6/#43   ...   3-4 in pools (+4)

9.  John Marshall  (Cleveland St.)   ...   #11/#3   ...   7-0 in pools (+24)
10. Mykhaylo Mazur  (WSU)   ...   #7/#6   ...   7-0 in pools (+21)     
11. Conor Gettings  (ND) ...  #27/#7   ...   6-1 in pools (+21)     
12. Andy Snell  (CSU)   ...   #19/#8   ...   6-1 in pools (+20)     
13. Dylan Walrond  (OSU)   ...   #70/#12   ...   6-1 in pools (+18)   
14. Brent Kelly  (ND)   ...   #5/#15   ...   6-1 in pools (+15)
15. Davidson Barr  (Northwestern)   ...   #15/#16   ...   6-1 in pools (+15)
16. Bill Kolodzey  (Michigan)   ...   #38/#20   ...   5-2 (+15)

17. Avi Somir (OSU)
18. Adam Bernstein (Oberlin)
19. Andrew Seroff (ND)
20. Jesse Fish (Case Western)
21. Eli Bader (NW)
22. Ruck Gunyon (Indiana)
23. Dan Reed (NW)
24. Phil Szalwinski (NW)
25. Marvin Lowentha  (MICH)

Northwestern veteran Samantha Nemecek claimed today;s 2009 Midwestern Fencing Conference women's epee title, after entering the tournament as the #2 seed, going 6-0 in her five-touch pool bouts (+26) and progressing through the round-round (as the #4 seed) – with her final three wins coming versus  co-#4 Emile Prot of Notre Dame (15-11), #1 seed Lindsay Knauer of Ohio State (15-12), and #11 Hayley Reese (ND) in a 15-12 final.

More details coming later tonight.

Three more individual champions are in from the MFCs (more details/breakdown to follow):

Men's Foil: Andras Horanyi (OSU) ... #1 initial seed ... went 6-0 (+25) in pools to earn #3 seed in DE ... ultimately beat #6 Reggie Bentley (ND) in 15-7 quarterfinal, #2 Steve Kubik (ND) in 15-8 semifnal, and #5 Enzo Castellani (ND) in 15-5 final.

Men's Epee: Karol Kostka (ND) ... #3 initial seed, went 7-0 (+28) in pools to earn #1 seed in DE ... ultimately beat #8 Chris Pinkowski (ND) in 15-10 quarterfinal, #4 Slava Zingerman (Wayne State) in 15-12 semifinal, and #14 Igor Tolkachev (OSU) in 15-14 final.

Men's Sabre: John Friend (Ohio State) ... #9 initial seed ... went 5-0 (+20) in pools to earn #8 seed in DE ... ultimately beat #1 Jakub Gibczynski (Wayne State) in 15-13 quarterfinal, #4 Dexter Wilde (OSU) in 15-13 semifinal, and #6 Avery Zuck in 15-8 final.

Combined Team Standings (final): 1. Penn 145; 2. Columbia 134; 3. Harvard 119; 4. Princeton 113; 5. Yale 98; 6. Brandeis 81; 7. MIT 80; 8. Boston College 75; 9. NYU 63; 10. Vassar 49; 11. Brown 46; 12. Cornell (women only) 45.

Top-5 Men's Teams: 1. Penn 73; 2. Harvard 59; 3. Columbia 56; 4. Princeton 51; 5. Yale 44.

Top-5 Women's Teams: 1. Columbia 78; 2. Penn 62; 3. Princeton 62; 4. Harvard 60; 5. Yale 50.

Team Weapon Champions:

Men's Foil: Yale 24 (runner-up Penn, 23)

Women's Foil: Columbia 25 (runner-up Penn, 24)

Men's Epee: Penn and Harvard, 25

Women's Epee: Columbia 28 (runner-up Penn, 23)

Men's Sabre: Penn 25 (runner-up Columbia, 20)

Women's Sabre: Columbia and Penn, 25

Men's Foil Top-4 (final): Simmons (PENN), Farrag (COL), Howard (PR), Kapur (PENN)

Men's Epee Top-4 (final): Ungar (HARV), Elfassy (PR), Beslund (NYU), Pearce (YALE)

Men's Sabre Top-4 (final): Spear (COL), Bielen (Penn), Souders (BC), Abend (PR)

Women's Foil Top-4 (final): Ross (COL), Oliva (PR), Hirschfeld (CORN), Pensler (HARV)

Women's Epee Top-4 (final): Brandfield-Harvey (COL), Larsson (HARV), Moss (YALE), Kozel (BRAN)

Women's Sabre Top-4 (final): Vloka (HARV), Shin (MIT), Kamis (PENN), Aiuto (COL)

(stay tuned throughout the day, as we recap all six MFC weapons and hope to catch up with the action at the IFAs)

* The two finalists – Notre Dame's Sarah Borrmann (3) and Ohio State's Margarita Tschomakova (4) – improved slightly on their seeds entering the day (neither was seeded top-5 after the pools/entering the DE, with Borrmann 8th/5-1 in pools and Tschomakova 6th/5-0 in pools). Borrmann's loss in the pools came against Northwestern's Courtney Park (#37 seed; 3-5).

* Borrmann's first big test in the direct-elimination came in the round-of-16 against Northwestern's Annelise Eeman (#16 initial seed/#11 after pools), with Borrmann eeking out the 15-13 win. She then won another close bout (15-12) in the quarterfinals, knocking out Ohio State freshman Emily Cheng (the recent Junior Olympic champion who entered the MFCs as #5 seed and was top-seeded for the DE). Borrmann's semifinal bout produced a 15-11 win over ND teammate Ashley Serrette, followed by a surprisingly easy 15-8 final against Tschomakova.

* Tschomakova had a fairly easy road into the quartterfinals, thanks to a round-of-16 bout (15-6)  against her OSU teammate Larissa Kenney (the #52 seed who jumped to #11 after the pools). Tschomakova then defeated Northwestern's Adrienne Shon in a 15-7 quarterfinal and earned a spot in the finals by edging another OSU teammate (Falencia Miller) in a thrilling 15-14 semifinal.

* The other semifinalists included the pre-tournament seed favorite and OSU newcomer Miller (#2 seed entering DE), along with the ND senior Serrette (who made a jump from her #8 pre-MFC seed and also moved up from her #5 seed heading into the DE). Miller reached the semifinals after a 15-11 win over Whitney White, but her bid for a spot in the final came up one point short (in the loss to Tschomakova). Serrette topped ND teammate Beatriz Almedia in the quartefinals (15-6), before her loss to Borrmann.

* In addition to Serrette, the other fencer in the final-8 who improved most on her initial seed was Northwestern's Shon (#10 pre-event seed; #3 seed after pools; placed 6th) ... the only fencer who failed to meet her projected top-8 finish was ND sophomore Eileen Hassett (#2 initial seed; #4 after pools; placed 9th), a 2008 All-American after placing 5th at the NCAAs.

* The final top-16 included only one fencer – OSU's Kinney – who did not enter the day among the top-16 seeds. In fact, the upstart Kenney was not even among the top-50 seeds entering the tournament (#52, finished 12th). Kinney had a solid 5-1 showing in the pools, with her only loss coming against the eventual champion Borrman (2-5) while her key pool win was a 5-3 bout against Wayne State's Anna Kotov (#15 seed; finished 16th). Kinney jumped up to the #11 seed entering the DE, where she posted two wins before losing to her OSU teammate Tschomakova in the round-of-16 (6-15).

* The two round-of-16 upsets saw #13 Almeida edge her ND teammate Hassett (#4) in a 15-14 bout, while Northwestern's White (#10) squeaked by OSU's Kiara Moore (#7) in another one-point nailbiter.

* Results for the final-16 women's sabre fencers are included below (upsets, based on seeding, are in italics). An expanded final list for the top-16 (including their initial seeds and adjusted/pre-DE seeding) also is included below:

MFC Women's Sabre Round-of-16
(1) Emily Cheng (OSU) def. (16) Anna Kotov (WSU) ... 15-3
(2) Falencia Miller (OSU) def. (15) Jillian Mahen (NW) ... 15-1  
(3) Adrienne Shon (NW) def. (14) Allison Keller (NW) ... 15-11
(13) Beatriz Almeida (ND) def. (4) Eileen Hassett (ND) ... 15-14
(5) Ashley Serrette (ND) def. (12) Ashley McLemore (DET) ... 15-6
(6) Margarita Tschomakova (OSU) def. (11) Larissa Kenney (NW) ... 15-6
(10) Whitney White (NW) def. (7) Kiara Moore (OSU) ... 15-14
(8) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (9) Annelise Eeman (NW) ... 15-13

Quarterfinals
(8) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (1) Emily Cheng (OSU) ... 15-3
(2) Falencia Miller (OSU) def.  (10) Whitney White (NW) ... 15-11
(6) Margarita Tschomakova (OSU) def. (3) Adrienne Shon (NW) ... 15-7
(5) Ashley Serrette (ND) def. (13) Beatriz Almeida (ND) ... 15-9

Semifinals
(6) Margarita Tschomakova (OSU) def. (2) Falencia Miller (OSU) ... 15-14
(8) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (5) Ashley Serrette (ND) ... 15-11

Final
(8) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (6) Margarita Tschomakova (OSU) ... 15-8

2009 MFC Women's Sabre Final Top-16 Data (field of 54)

1. Sarah Borrmann  (Notre Dame)   ...   #3 initial seed/#8 pre-DE   ...   5-1 in pools (+17)
2. Margarita Tschomakova  (Ohio State)   ...  #4/#6   ...   5-0 in pools (+18)
3. Falencia Miller  (OSU)   ...   #1/#2   ...   6-0 in pools (+25)
3. Ashley Serrette  (ND)   ...   #8/#5   ...   5-0 in pools (+20)
5. Emily Cheng  (OSU)   ...   #5/#1   ...   6-0 in pools (+26) 
6. Adrienne Shon  (Northwestern)   ...   #1/#3   ...   6-0 in pools (+23)
7. Whitney White  (NW)   ...   #6/#10   ...   5-1 in pools (+16)     
8. Beatriz Almeida  (ND)   ...  #7/#13   ...   5-1 in pools (+11)   

9.  Eileen Hassett  (ND)   ...   #2/#4   ...   6-0 in pools (+22)
10. Kiara Moore  (OSU)   ...   #13/#7   ...   5-1 in pools (+19)     
11. Annelise Eeman  (NW) ...  #16/#9   ...   5-1 in pools (+17)     
12. Larissa Kenney  (OSU)   ...   #52/#11   ...   5-1 in pools (+15)     
13. Ashley McLemore  (Detroit)   ...   #12/#12   ...   5-1 in pools (+14)   
14. Allison Keller  (NW)   ...   #11/#14   ...   4-1 in pools (+11)
15. Jillian Mahen  (NW)   ...   #9/#15   ...   4-1 in pools (+9)
16. Anna Kotov  (Wayne State)   ...   #15/#16   ...   4-2 (+8)

Key bout details to follow ... 

2009 MFC Women's Sabre Final Standings (field of 54)

1. Sarah Borrmann  (Notre Dame)
2. Margarita Tschomakova  (Ohio State)
3. Falencia Miller  (OSU)  
3. Ashley Serrette  (ND)  
5. Emily Cheng  (OSU)   
6. Adrienne Shon  (Northwestern)  
7. Whitney White  (NW) 
8. Beatriz Almeida  (ND)  

9.  Eileen Hassett  (ND)  
10. Kiara Moore  (OSU)
11. Annelise Eeman  (NW) 
12. Larissa Kenney  (OSU) 
13. Ashley McLemore  (Detroit)
14. Allison Keller  (NW)  
15. Jillian Mahen  (NW)  
16. Anna Kotov  (Wayne State) 

17. Katie Friedrichs  (Michigan State) 
18. Courtney Park  (NW)  
19. Mary Koser  (Indiana)
20. Samantha LaFrance  (DET)  
21. Brittany Romatowski  (WSU) 
22. Talia Hurwich  (Chicago)
23. Amy Ross  (Michigan)
24. Brynne O'Neal  (CHI)

25. Sarah Beckman  (Wisconsin)  
26. Alyssa Wootton  (OSU)  
27. Rebecca Swanney  (IU)
28. Bridgette Tinsley  (MICH)
29. Alexandra Carrico  (MSU) 
30. Kara Zdenek  (MSU) 
31. Meg Holt  (MSU)
32. Samantha Kukendahl  (IU)

Women’s Foil
1. Lindsay Knauer (Ohio State)
2. Devynn Patterson  (Northwestern)
2. Oksana Dmytruk  (Ohio State)
4. Emilie Prot  (Notre Dame)
4. Sam Nemecek  (Northwestern)

Women’s Epee
1. Christa French  (Northwestern)
2. Kelley Hurley  (Notre Dame)
2. Joanna Nuklinska  (Northwestern)
4. Ewa Nelip  (Notre Dame)
5. Courtney Hurley  (Notre Dame)

MFC Men's Sabre Top-25 Seeds (field of 71)

1. Mike Momtselidze  (Ohio State)
2. Avery Zuck  (Notre Dame)  
3. Max Stearns  (Ohio State)
4. Boll Thanhouser  (Notre Dame)
5. Barron Nydam  (Notre Dame)  
6. Jakub Gubczynski  (Wayne State)  
7. Dexter Wilde  (Ohio State)
8. Robert Douville  (Ohio State)

9. John Friend  (Ohio State)
10. Keith Feldman (Notre Dame) 
11. Tom Horton  (Notre Dame)
12. Tony Schlehuber  (Notre Dame)
13. Trent Lundquist  (Ohio State)
14. Marcel Funkel  (Notre Dame)   
15. Alex Chee  (Lawrence)
16. Alex Buell  (Notre Dame)  

17. Jason Heiss  (Cleveland State)
18. Zach Warburg  (Northwestern)
19. Tom Fox  (Northwestern)    
20. Brian Jao  (Case Western)
21. Stephan Patrias  (Chicago)
22. Kryzstof Abbas  (Wayne State)   
23. Shane Blackman  (Chicago)
24. Michael Danelia  (Detroit)
25. Michael Opalewski  (Wayne State)  

Men’s Foil
1. Zach Schirtz   (Notre Dame)
2. Steve Kubik   (Notre Dame)
3. Andras Horanyi   (Ohio State)
3. Philip Chan   (Illinois)
5. Enzo Castellani   (Notre Dame)

As a point of clarification, today's tournaments (the IFAs and MFCs) essentially are postseason exhibition events, in relation to the qualification process for the NCAA Championships. Final NCAA qualification data was submitted earlier this week, with only bouts versus varsity-level fencers (in dual-meet formats) counting in the qualification formula. Earlier "open" individual tournaments and last week's New England Championships (which is contested in a pools/DE format) also do not factor into NCAA qualification – but results from the recent Ivy League Championships are used to determine NCAA entrants (due to the fact that the Ivy League uses a dual-meet format).

Despite the absence of "countable bouts," the IFAs and MFCs still can prove to be valuable to coaches, who may have to make some tough choices in terms of choosing (when applicable) which fencers from their respective teams to send to the NCAA Regionals and/or Finals (championship) – more on this process will be upcoming in the CF360 blog. 

The annual IFA Championships fencing was set to start at 8:30 eastern, on the campus of Brandeis University (in Waltham, Mass.). This marks the 112th Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championship, an event that dates back to the late 19th century (1894, with a four-year hiatus during World War II.).

The event includes various competition for team and individual weapon titles, plus a men's three-weapon champion, a women's three-weapon champion and a combined men's/women's champion. the men's foil teams will be battling for the historic Little Iron Man Trophy (see picture below), which is considered to be the oldest intercollegiate trophy still contested (dating back to the 1890s).

The rosters for the 12 teams at this year's IFA event include fencers who have combined to win seven IFA individual titles:
• Harvard junior women's foilist Misha Goldfeder (2007 and 2008)
• Harvard fifth-year senior women's foilist Emily Cross (2006)
• Princeton senior women's epeeist Jasjit Bhinder (2008)
• Columbia junior men's foilist Kurt Getz (2007)
• Princeton sophomore men's epeeist Graham Wicas (2008)
• Columbia junior men's sabreist Jeff Spear (2008)

Goldfeder was studying abroad during the 2008 fall semester and has not been a regular member of Harvard's impressive women's foil unit during the current spring season (she still is listed on the team roster – we will attempt to clarify her status) ...  so it's possible that only five former champions will be pursuing another IFA title today at the Gosman Athletic Center.

The 12-team field includes four ranked in the national top-10 – Columbia, Harvard, Penn an Princeton – along with Brandeis, Boston College, Brown, Cornell (women), MIT, NYU, Vassar and Yale. Columbia is the defending champion for the men's event and the combined championships, while Penn took home the 2008 IFA women's title.

The full day of fencing will include 18 pools of bouting (10-12 fencers per pool), followed by direct-elimination rounds of 16 in all six weapons.

Pictured at left is a photo of the historic Little Iron Man Trophy, presented to the IFA men's foil team champion.

MFC Women's Sabre Top-25 Seeds (field of 61)

1. Falencia Miller  (Ohio State)
2. Eileen Hassett  (Notre Dame)
3. Sarah Borrmann  (Notre Dame)
4. Margarita Tschmoakov  (Ohio State)
5. Emily Cheng  (Ohio State)
6. Whitney White  (Northwestern)
7. Beatriz Almeida  (Notre Dame)
8. Ashley Serrette  (Notre Dame)

9. Jillian Mahan  (Northwestern)
10. Adrienne Shon  (Northwestern)
11. Allison Keller  (Northwestern)
12. Ashee McLemore  (Detroit)
13. Kiara Moore  (Ohio State)
14. Christina Zoccoli  (Notre Dame)
15. Anna Kotov  (Wayne State)
16. Annelise Eeman  (Northwestern)

17. Anna Kotov  (Indiana)
18. Annelise Eeman  (Wayne State)
19. Avi Simon  (Xavier)
20. Allison Divan  (Detroit)
21. Talie Hurwich  (Chicago)
22. Colleen Dawes  (Notre Dame)
23. Rebecca Swanney  (Indiana)
24. Samantha LaFrance  (Detroit)
25. Meg Holt  (Michigan State)

The Midwest Fencing Conference individual competition is set to begin, with three weapon pools (mens epee and foil, and women's sabre) hitting the strips in the early-morning bouts. The other three weapons then have an approximate start time of 10:15 eastern. The direct-elimination phase will follow in the afternoon, with the first three weapons slated to enter DE shortly after noon (the final three weapons then will start their fenceoff phase around 2:30).

Sunday's team competition – contested between individual weapon groups, in bracket format (9-bout matches) – will begin for the men's weapons at 8:00, with the women following at approximately 12:30.

Seeding information for Saturday's early weapons coming up next.

2009 MIDWEST FENCING CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Saturday, February 28 -– Individual Championships
8:00 a.m. – pools for men's epee, men's foil and women's sabre 
10:15 a.m. – pools for men's sabre, women's epee and women's foil 
12:30 p.m. – direct-elimination for men's epee, men's foil and women's sabre 
2:30 p.m. – direct-elimination for men's foil, women's epee and women's sabre

Sunday, March 1 - Team Championships
8:00 a.m. – Team tournaments for men's weapons
12:30 p.m. – Team Tournaments for women's weapons

CF360 will begin ramping up coverage (on the BLOG and throughout the site) today, throughout the weekend and all the way through the NCAAs. Note that the Composite Schedule (linked via the tab above) has been updated to include the dates and other basic info. for all remaining postseason action in varsity college fencing. An upcoming blog posting will provide a CF360 to-do list of upcoming offerings, updates, etc.

We are breaking down results from the New England Championships and will be posting info. on the blog shortly (also upcoming: more from the Ivy League, most notably recap tributes to the championships teams: the Harvard women and Penn men).

(We regret a delay in posting Ivy League recap info. today, due to some unforeseen technical and schedule issues ... but the blog is quickly catching up, today and tomorrow).

A talented group of freshman women's fencers cemented their place in Ivy League history on Sunday at Brown University, as first-year fencers combined to capture 11 of the 18 spots on the all-Ivy League women's fencing lists (six of the nine first teamers also are freshmen). Those 11 rookies were evenly-spaced among the weapons, with four foilists, three epeeists and four sabreists. Columbia, Penn and Princeton each boast three of these elite newcomers on their rosters, while Harvard has two.

Those two Harvard freshmen – epee Olympian Noam Mills (17-1; Kfar Saba, Israel) and sabreist Caroline Vloka (16-2; Upper Saddle River, N.J.) – finished atop their respective weapon groups (based on win pct.), while Princeton newcomer Lucile Jarry (12-2; Larchmont, N.Y.) finished second in foil, behind only Olympian Emily Cross  (16-2; Harvard, Sr.; New York, NY).

In addition to the three fencers mentioned above, the other freshman women who earned first team all-Ivy League honors included Princeton epeeist Susannah Scanlan (16-2; St. Paul, Minn.), and the Columbia sabre duo of Stephanie Aiuto  (16-2; Great Neck, N.Y.) and Sammy Roberts  (15-3; Upper Saddle River, N.J.).

Two Columbia All-Americans  – sophomore foilist Nicole Ross (14-4) and junior epeeist Tess Finkel  (12-3), both New York City natives – rounded out the group of first team all-Ivy League performers.

Cross claimed first-team Ivy League status for the third time in her career (she did not fence for Harvard in '07 or '08, due to Olympic qualifying), while Ross earned first-team distinction for the second straight season. It marks the first time since 2006 that an Ivy League women's fencer has been a three-time (or four-time) first-teamer. Chloe Stinetorf, Cross' former foil teammate at Harvard, registered first-team honors every from from 2003-06, as did Princeton foilist Jacqueline Leahy from '04-'06.

The impact of the deep and talented freshman group mentioned above (nearly one dozen strong) led to several proven veterans failing to replicate their first-team performances from earlier seasons. Princeton senior epeeist Jasjit Bhinder came up short in her bid for a third time on the first team all-Ivy group (she finished 9-6, also falling outside second-team status), while six others failed to earn first-team honors for the second time in their careers: Penn senior foilist Ilana Sinkin (9-8), Columbia sophomore foilist Abby Caparros-Jantos (7-11), Harvard senior epeeist Maria Larsson (14-4), Yale junior epeeist Rebecca Moss (11-6), Columbia sophomore epeeist Martyna Urbanowicz (4-7), and Columbia sophomore sabreist Jackie Jacobson (14-4).

Larsson and Jacobson did finish with second-team Ivy League honors, as did five freshmen: Penn foilists Laura Paragano  (12-6) and Mia Howell  (10-7), Princeton foilist Andrea Oliva  (8-6), Columbia epeeist Neely Brandfield-Harvey  (13-5), and Penn sabreist Dominika Franciskowicz  (13-4). Cornell junior epeeist Katherine Thompson (13-5) and Penn sophomore sabreist Danielle Kamis  (13-5) completed the group of 18 women's fencers who posted all-Ivy League finishes.

Columbia junior Daria Schneider – a two-time All-American, '07 NCAA champ and '08 Olympic hopeful – again did not compete, possibly due to the lingering effects of an injury suffered a few weeks ago at a World Cup event. That injury had prevented Schneider (an Ivy League first-teamer in '06 and '07) from competing in part-1 of the Ivy League Round-Robin (Feb. 8, at Columbia).

Despite the absence of Schneider, the Columbia women's sabreists completed a dominant display over the two-day Ivy League meet – as Aiuto, Roberts and Jacobson combined to win an impressive 83% of their total bouts (45-9).

Columbia totaled the most 2009 all-conference women's performers (6), followed by four each from Harvard and Penn, three from Princeton and one Cornell fencer. In addition to the 11 freshmen, the all-league honorees included three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors (each of those classes had one first-teamer).

Nearly one-third of the 2009 all-Ivy women's fencers (5 of 18) are New York natives, with the others including three from New Jersey, two Pennsylvania-area fencers, and one each from California, Georgia (the U.S. state), Israel, Oklahoma, Sweden and Texas.

2009 ALL-IVY LEAGUE WOMEN'S FENCERS

WOMEN'S FOIL

First Team
Emily Cross  (Harvard, Sr.; New York, NY ... 16-2/.889)
Lucile Jarry  (Princeton, Fr.; Larchmont, NY ... 12-2/.857)
Nicole Ross  (Columbia, So.; New York, NY ... 14-4 (.778)

Second Team
Laura Paragano  (Penn, Fr.; Bernardsville, NJ ... 12-6/.667)
Mia Howell  (Penn, Fr.; San Francisco, CA ... 10-7/.588)
Andrea Oliva  (Princeton, Fr.; Philadelphia, PA ... 8-6/.571)

WOMEN'S EPEE

First Team
Noam Mills  (Harvard, Fr.; Kfar Saba, Israel ... 17-1/.944)
Susannah Scanlan  (Princeton, Fr.; St. Paul, MN ... 16-2/.889)
Tess Finkel  (Columbia, Jr.; New York, NY ... 12-3/.800)

Second Team
Maria Larsson  (Harvard, Sr.; Stockholm, Sweden ... 14-4/.778)
Katherine Thompson  (Cornell, Jr.; Edmond, OK ... 13-5/.722)
Neely Brandfield-Harvey  (Columbia, Fr.; Houston, TX ... 13-5/.722)

WOMEN'S SABRE

First Team
Caroline Vloka  (Harvard, Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ ... 16-2/.889)
Stephanie Aiuto  (Columbia, Fr.; Great Neck, NY ... 16-2/.889)
Sammy Roberts  (Columbia, Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ ... 15-3/.833)

Second Team
Jackie Jacobson  (Columbia, So.; Atlanta, GA ... 14-4/.778)
Dominika Franciskowicz  (Penn, Fr.; Mt. Prospect, IL ... 13-4/.765)
Danielle Kamis  (Penn, So.; Gladwyne, PA ... 13-5/.722)

The University of Pennsylvania men's fencing team and the Harvard women have claimed Ivy League team titles,  by virtue of results today in action at Brown University. Two of today's three rounds have been fully completed, with the Harvard women posting wins over Brown (20-7) and Penn (15-12) while the Penn men defeated Harvard, 16-11. We also received word that Penn has completed an undefeated season, meaning that the final round (a win over Yale) also must be done for the Quakers men.

CollegeFencing360 already has received bout sheets from the first two rounds and will be passing along details from all 15 of today's matches, plus final thoughts on the Ivy League Championships (including individual champions and all-Ivy League teams).

Penn State will not be holding its quad meet today (vs. St. John's, Duke and Temple), due to travel issues with some of the other teams. That's too bad, because it would have been great to see some matchups between elite fencers – particularly in women's sabre, with Duke's Becca Ward, PSU's Caity Thompson and Monika Askamit, and Dagmara Wozniak of St. John's (all four are national-team caliber sabreists). We're fairly certain that Ward has lost only twice this season in college team events, with those losses coming to Thompson and Penn's Danielle Kamis (both at the Princeton Duals).

It doesn't seem like we have been able to measure Penn State's team much this season (in dual-meet scenarios), as the PSU men have fenced only 15 matches (12-3) while the women will head into the postseason following a 13-1 regular season. The Nittany Lions also do not compete in a "conference tournament" event (such as the IFAs or MFCs), so they have only one event remaining – the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional (March 7) – before serving as the host team for the NCAA Championships (March 19-22).

We've been meaning to mention that we did solve one mystery involving the Penn State men, from their 17-10 loss to Penn at the Princeton Duals (that match took on less significance, for PSU but certainly not for Penn, when the Nittany Lions men lost a couple weeks later to both Notre Dame and Ohio State).

Anyway, Penn won all but one of the men's foil bouts that day (8-1), and it was noted that PSU was missing a pair of top performers in that weapon (All-American Nick Chinman and elite newcomer Miles Chamley-Watson, who was competing in Paris at a World Cup event). There was no official explanation about why Chinman did not fence in those foil bouts ... but a few weeks later we learned that Chinman had been shifted to epee, we believe in all of the matches at Princeton (Chinman had been a standout in both foil and epee, during his youth fencing days).

(In the future, CF360 will take a closer glance at other weapon sheets in such situations!)

One can only assume that Penn State's various top fencers have completed enough qualifying bouts to earn spots in the Regional. Chinman, Chamney-Watson (and possibly Askamit, who may have missed an event to attend a World Cup?) already had totaled a lower number of bouts (in their primary weapons) than many of their teammates. CF360 has an NCAA handbook that could be referenced for all the technical mumbo-jumbo, but again the assumption is that the PSU fencers are good-to-go for the Regionals (if not, there appears to be a provision for teams to request a waiver of minimum requirements for Regional participation).

With today's schedule opened up, the CF360 blog will try to pass on some other content during the day (the editor also will be focusing more today on CF360's sister site, CollegeBaseball360.com).

See the rankings tab for the updated USFCA national poll (with notes). 

The U.S. Fencing Coaches Association national poll will be updated on Thursday morning (Feb. 19). Simply check CollegeFencing360.com and click on the rankings tab.

The unbeaten Notre Dame men likely will claim sole possession of the #1 spot (current co-#1 Penn State has lost twice, including a match against fellow #1 ND). Also look for the #6 Penn and #9 St. John's men to possibly move up in the poll, while the #4 Columbia men and #7 Harvard may drop a couple spots.

The Penn State women (13-1) may remain #1, despite losing the head-to-head battle with #2 Notre Dame (the Irish women lost twice in their regular season, versus #3 Ohio State and #4 Columbia). After a quick glance over the initial women's poll, it appears that there may not be as much movement in the women's poll as in the men's. 

Here's a look at some of the top individual performers during part-I of the Ivy League Round-Robin Championships, held on Feb. 8 (impressively, more than half of the 15 fencers listed below are freshmen, plus three juniors and four seniors):

Caroline Vloka  (12-0 ... Women's Sabre; Harvard; Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ)  ...  key wins: 5-3 vs. Cornell's Alex Heiss (three-time NCAA participant), swept Columbia's freshman duo Sammy Roberts (5-2) and Stephanie Aiuto (5-1).

Lucile Jarry  (9-0 ... Women's Foil; Princeton; Fr.; Larchmont, NY)  ...  key wins: swept Harvard trio that includes Olympian Emily Cross (5-3) and '08 NCAA entrants Anna Podolsky (5-3) and Arielle Pensler (5-0), also beat Penn All-American Ilana Sinkin (5-4), Penn newcomer Laura Paragano (5-3) and Cornell '08 NCAA qualifier Jessica Tranquada (5-1).

Michael Pearce  (9-0 ... Men's Epee; Yale; Sr.; San Francisco, CA)  ...  key wins: swept Columbia All-Americans Max Czapanskiy (5-2) and Dwight Smith (3-0), along with their teammate Lorenzo Castertano (5-3); also beat Brown '08 NCAA entrant Adam Yarnell (4-3).

Alexander Mills  (6-0 ... Men's Foil; Princeton; Fr.; Milburn, NJ)  ...  key wins: topped the Harvard duo of All-American Kai Itameri-Kinter (5-2) and '08 NCAA participant Long Ouyang (5-1).

Michael Pearce

Noam Mills  (11-1 ... Women's Epee; Harvard; Fr.; Kfar Saba, Israel)  ...  key wins: the 2008 Olympian swept the Princeton trio of All-American Jasjit Bhinder (5-0), '08 all-Ivy League performer Chandler Clay (5-2) and elite newcomer Susannah Scanlan (5-4), adding two key 5-1 wins over Columbia fencers (Martyna Urbanowicz and freshman Neely Brandfield-Harvey) while also topping Cornell '08 NCAA entrants Tasha Hall (5-2) and Sallie Dietrech (5-1) ... her lone defeat came by a single touch (4-5), against Columbia two-time NCAA participant Tess Finkel (see below).

Emily Cross  (11-1 ... Women's Foil; Harvard; Sr.; New York, NY)  ...  key wins: the 2008 Olympian bested Columbia's All-America duo of Nicole Ross and Abby Caparros-Janto (both 5-1), also defeating Cornell '08 NCAA entrant Jessica Tranquada (5-2) ... her only loss (3-5) came vs. Princeton's Lucille Jarry (see above).

Jeff Spear  (11-1 ... Men's Sabre; Columbia; Jr.; Wynantskill, NY)  ...  key wins: the defending NCAA champion bested a pair of Columbia All-Americans (Andrew Bielen and Jonathan Berkowsky), both 5-3, en route to earning national fencer of the week ... his lone loss of the day came by one point, against harvard freshman Valentin Staller (see below).

Valentin Staller  (8-1 ... Men's Sabre; Harvard; Fr.; Old Field, NY)  ...  key wins: handed Columbia All-Amreican Jeff Spear his only loss of the day (5-4), also topping Princeton '08 NCAA entrant John Stogin (5-1) ...  lost to Yale senior Sebastian Cano-Besquet (3-5).

Tess Finkel  (8-1 ... Women's Epee; Columbia; Jr.; New York, NY)  ...  key win: handed Harvard newcomer Noam Mills (see above) her only loss of the day, 5-4 (likely would have totaled more wins, but she did not fence against Yale) ... her only loss came by the same 5-4 score to Harvard All-American Maria Larsson (see below).

Susannah Scanlan  (8-1 ... Women's Epee; Princeton; Fr.; St. Paul, MN)  ...  key wins: topped Harvard All-American Maria Larsson (5-4) and Cornell '08 NCAA entrants Sallie Dietrech (5-0) and Tasha Hall (5-4) ... her only loss came 4-5 to the national fencer of the week, Harvard's Noam Mills (see above).

Alex Heiss  (8-1 ... Women's Sabre; Cornell; Sr.; Mamoroneck, NY)  ...  key win: 5-2 over Brown All-American Randy Alevi ... lost 3-5 to Harvard's Caroline Vloka (see above), who went 12-0.

Jonathan Berkowsky  (8-1 ... Men's Sabre; Pennsylvania; Jr.; Sicklerville, NJ)  ...  key win: bested Princeton '08 NCAA participant John Stogin (5-1) ... his only loss came against defending NCAA champ Jeff Spear (see above) of Columbia, 3-5.

Maria Larsson  (10-2 ... Women's Epee; Harvard; Sr.' Stockholm, Sweden)  ...  key wins: swept Columbia's potent trio of junior Tess Finkel, sophomore Martyna Urbanowicz and freshman Neely Brandfield-Harvey (all 5-4), also defeating Princeton's Chandler Clay (5-3) along with Cornell '08 NCAA entrants Tasha Hall (5-4) and Sallie Dietrech (5-3) ... her pair of losses came 4-5 against Princeton newcomer Susannah Scanlan (see above) and Yale '08 all-Ivy League performer Rebecca Moss (3-5).        

Sammy Roberts  (10-2 ... Women's Sabre; Columbia; Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ)  ...  key wins: posted pair of 5-2 wins over Penn fencers ('08 NCAA entrant Alexis Baran and freshman Dominika Franciskowicz) while also beating Brown All-American Randy Alevi (5-1) ... dropped bouts to Penn All-American Danielle Kamis (0-5) and Harvard ace newcomer Carolina Vloka (see above) in a 2-5 bout between the hometown foes.

Stephanie Aiuto  (10-2 ... Women's Sabre; Columbia; Fr.; Great Neck, NY)  ...  key wins: swept the Penn sabreists (Kamis, Baren and Franciskowicz) in successive 5-4 bouts, adding 5-1 win over Brown's Alevi ... suffered her pair of losses to Yale's Jennifer Ivers and Harvard's Vloka (both 1-5).

The CF360 blog will be revisiting last weekend's Ivy League round-robin meet, held at Columbia. We will provide several blog posts as part of the Ivy League recap (in addition to previewing "part-2" of the Ivy League round-robin, to he held Feb. 22 at Brown).

Ivy League team champions (men and women) are awarded based on won-loss record in the round-robin matches. Each women's team has six matches and each men's team competes in five, as Cornell sponsors only women's fencing on a varsity level.

The standings are included below, as are two other lists (compiled by CF360) that show how many weapon groups (vs. each opponent) that the teams have won, in addition to a ranking of total bouts won (sorted by win pct., as some teams fenced more matches that others during part-1). 

The upcoming round-robin day at Brown will include three more rounds, with nine women's matches and six men's spread over those three rounds.

Teams are able to share the title (as was the case with the Harvard and Columbia men in 2006), with head-to-head results not used as a tie-breaker. The #5-ranked Harvard women are in the driver's seat (4-0), with their big win coming over #4 Columbia (15-12). The Crimson women likely are assured of at least a tie for the title, as one of their two remaining matches is versus last-place Brown (plus #9 Penn).

The winner of the women's match between Columbia and #7 Princeton also has a shot to claim the title, as Columbia will enter Sunday with a 3-1 record while Princeton is 2-1 (the Lions have their other match against Cornell, while the Tigers also have matchups left against Yale and Brown).

As shown in the below charts, the Columbia women actually have the edge over Harvard in terms of weapon groups won and total bouts win pct. – but the Crimson picked up the key head-to-head victory (by a narrow 15-12 margin). Now, the Lions are left hoping for Penn to upset Harvard in part-2.

in the men's competition, #6 Penn posted a pair of upsets on Feb. 8 (18-9 over #4 Columbia and 17-10 over #5 Princeton), putting the 3-0 Quakers in position to win the Ivy League title. Columbia is close behind (3-1) while Princeton (1-1) also still has a shot to steal the title. Penn has matches remaining vs. #7 Harvard and Yale, while Columbia's only match left is against Princeton (the Tigers also still have to fence Brown and Yale).

Here are the various lists, plus the complete results from part-1 (including team weapon scores). Check back to the blog for more recap/preview info. on the Ivy League:

Ivy League Women's Standings (3-weapon round-robin)
1. Harvard (4-0) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #9 Penn and Brown
2. Columbia (3-1) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #7 Princeton and Cornell
3. Princeton (2-1) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #4 Columbia, Yale and Brown
4. Cornell (1-2) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #4 Columbia, #9 Penn and Yale
4. Pennsylvania (1-2) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #5 Harvard, Cornell and Yale
4. Yale (1-2) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #7 Princeton, #9 Penn and Cornell
7. Brown (0-4) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #5 Harvard and #7 Princeton

Women's Total Bouts Won
1. Columbia (75-33 ...  .694 win pct.)
2. Harvard (68-40 ...  .630)
3. Princeton (44-37 ...  .543)
4. Penn (43-38 ...  .531)
5. Cornell (34-47 ...  .420)
6. Yale (33-48 ...  .407)
7. Brown (27-81 ...  .250)

Ivy League Men's Team Standings (3-Weapon Round-Robin)
1. Pennsylvania (3-0) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #7 Harvard and Yale
2. Columbia (3-1) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #5 Princeton
3. Princeton (1-1) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #4 Columbia, Brown and Yale
4. Brown (1-2) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #5 Princeton and #7 Harvard
4. Yale (1-2) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #5 Princeton and #6 Penn
6. Harvard (0-3) ... Feb. 22 vs.: #6 Penn and Brown

Men's Weapon Groups Won
1. Penn (8 of 9)
2. Columbia (8 of 12)
3. Princeton (3 of 6)
4. Harvard (3 of 9)
4. Yale (3 of 9)
6. Brown (2 of 9)

IVY LEAGUE ROUND-ROBIN  (part-1; at Columbia; Feb. 8)

A check of Friday's final results from the Junior Olympics has revealed several other noteworthy college fencers who are competing in this event. CF360 earlier was aware of most Ivy League fencers attending the JOs, but we know know that Columbia'a top women's foilists Nicole Ross and Abigail Caparros-Janto also were among the 136 who participated in the 2009 JO under-20 meet. Ross (#5 in the USFA "rolling" rankings) placed sixth in the JOs, while Caparros-Janto was 15th.

Other top-20 results for collegiate fencers include (but are not necessarily limited to): Notree Dame's Hayley Reese (10th; ranked #7), Princeton's Lucille Jarry (18th; ranked #16) and Northwestern's Camille Provencale-Dayle (20th; ranked #21). The top-4 finishers in women's foil were Margaret Lu, Lee Kiefer, Madison Zeiss, Ambika Singh, Mikayla Varadi, Ross, Luona Wang and Eva Levin.

Ohio State freshman Eric Gornowski won the 203-fencer men's epee competition, while Air Force's Daniel Trapani placed fifth and Vassar's Nicholas Johnson was 18th. Gurnowski defeated Samuel Zucker in the semifinals and Corwin Duncan in the final (Duncan faced Ed Kelley in the semi's). Other final-8 men's epeeists included James Kaull, Jeffrey Miller and Michael Rossi.

Another OSU fencer, women's sabreist Emily Cheng, also is coming home with a Junior Olympic gold medal. Cheng defeated Faizah Muhammad in the final bout, with Margaret McDonald and Nicole Glon also reaching the semifinals (others in the final-8 included Sean Cadley, Chloe Grainger, Holly Moore and Tiki Kastor.

NYU's Lisa Verzion was the 27th-place finisher in the women's sabre competition.

Here is a list of the top-8 finishers – plus an initial list of other collegiate fencers – in all three weapons that were contested on Friday. All rankings refer to the USFA "rolling rankings). Note that many elite college fencers have opted not to attend the 2009 Junior Olympics, due to a variety of factors – namely that they already have clinched spots on the U.S. teams that will compete at the 2009 Junior World Championships (April 8-13, in Belfast).

Due to the fact that many of the JO fencers are new to college fencing (i.e. freshmen), we currently are not able to identify a more complete list of college fencers at the JO. We will continue to update these lists (for all six weapons) – please feel free to forward additional names of college fencers who are at the 2009 JOs (editor@collegefencing360.com). CF360 also is developing a database of college fencer names, which will help in crosschecking with entrant/result lists.

2009 Junior Olympics (Friday, Feb. 13)

WOMEN'S FOIL (field of 136)
1. Margaret Lu   (#6 ranking)
2. Lee Kiefer   (#2 ranking)
3. Madison Zeiss   (#15 ranking)
3. Ambika Singh   (#8 ranking)
5. Mikayla Varadi   (#13 ranking)
6. Nicole Ross (Columbia; So.; New York, NY)   (#5 ranking)
7. Luona Wang   (#4 ranking)
8. Eve Levin   (#10 ranking)

Other College Fencers Results (partial list):
10. Hayley Reese   (Notre Dame; So.; Crestwood, KY)   (#7 ranking)
15. Abigail Caparros-Janto   (Columbia; So.; Maplewood, NJ)
18. Lucile Jarry   (Princeton; Fr.; Larchmont, NY)   (#16 ranking)
20. Camille Provencale-Dayle   (Northwestern; Fr,; St. Paul, MN)   (#21 ranking)

22. Darsie Malynn   (Notre Dame; Fr.; Grapevine, TX)   (#29 ranking)    
24. Devynn Patterson   (Northwestern; Fr.; Seattle, WA)   (#17 ranking)
29. Rebecca Hirschfeld   (Cornell; Fr.; New York, NY)

MEN'S EPEE (field of 203)
1. Eric Gurnowski   (Ohio State; Fr.; Hackettstown, NJ)   (#28 ranking)
2. Corwin Duncan   (#2 ranking)
3. Ed Kelley   (#23 ranking)
3. Samuel Zucker
5. Daniel Trapani   (Air Force; So.; Houston, TX)   (#11 ranking)
6. James Kaull   (#3 ranking)
7. Jeffrey Miller
8. Michael Rossi

Other College Fencers Results (partial list):
18. Nicholas Johnson   (Vassar; Fr.; Byfield, MA)   (#55 ranking)
22. Nicholas Crebs   (Notre Dame; Fr.; Beaverton, OR)
34. Jacob Osborne   (Notre Dame; So.; Colleyville, TX)   (#35 ranking)
70. Kristoff Pinkowski   (Notre Dame; Fr.; Simi Valley, CA)
87. Brian Rouse   (Vassar; Fr.; Middletown, CT)

WOMEN'S SABRE (field of 105)
1. Emily Cheng   (Ohio State; Fr.; Sacramento, CA)   (#18 ranking)
2. Faizah Muhammad   (#11 ranking)
3. Margaret McDonald   (#32 ranking)
3. Nicole Glon   (#10 ranking)
5. Sean Cadley   (#13 ranking)
6. Chloe Grainger   (#46 ranking)
7. Holly Moore   (#29 ranking)
8. Titi Kastor   (#21 ranking)

Other College Fencers Results (partial list):
27. Lisa Verzino (NYU; Fr.; Centereach, NY)
34. Bia Almeida   (Notre Dame; Fr.; Chappagua, NY)   (#38 ranking)
54. Annelise Eeman   (Northwestern; Fr.; St. Louis Park, MN)
103. Jill Mahen   (Northwestern; So.; Chester, NJ)

We have received word of a few more confirmed entries in the Junior Olympics:

• Vassar freshman men's epeeists Brian Rouse and Nicholas Johnson

• Cornell freshman women's foilist Rebecca Hirschfeld

• NYU women's foilist Rebeccsa Baird-Remba and women's sabreist Lisa Verzino

• Notre Dame freshman women's sabreist Bia Almeida

We also have learned that MIT and Brown do not have any competitors at the JOs (we are making the same assumption for Columbia and Yale, unless hearing otherwise).

More later (and through Monday) ... please continue to send CF360 your JOs info.

CollegeFencing360 is hoping to compile some confirmed entries (among current collegiate fencers) who will be competing at the upcoming Junior Olympics, Feb. 13-16 in Albuquerque (of course, we then would love to pass along some result highlights as well). Three junior-level (under-20) weapons will be competing on Friday (Feb. 13): men's epee, women's foil and women's sabre. The u-20 men's sabreists and women's epeeists then will hit the strips on Saturday (Feb. 14), followed by a day off for the u-20s and finally the men's foil bouts on Monday, Feb. 16.

Feel free to email CF360 with names of current varsity-level college fencers who (to your knowledge) are confirmed for the Junior Olympics. We will try to compile an "unofficial" confirmed list – along with any other information we can obtain from college coaches and schools websites (those two sources, as of this morning, have yielded no names – CF360 will try to pass any info. as it becomes available, both before or after the events).

Anyone attending the event who would like to fax CF360 entry list(s), that would be helpful as well (we're assuming that the USFA has plenty on its plate right now). Please email us and we will arrange to receive your fax.

In general, any JO correspondence to pass along may be emailed to: editor@collegefencing360.com.c

The NYU men's fencing team has registered one of the more noteworthy upsets of the 2009 college fencing season, edging #4 Columbia in a 15-12 match at the NYU Duals. The Lions won the foil (6-3) and epee (5-4) competition, but  the Violets stunningly won all but one of the sabre bouts (8-1). The #4 Columbia women wrapped up a dominant way by defeating NYU, 23-4. The Lions women dropped only 12 total bouts spanning Wednesday three wins (vs. Sacred Heart, Vassar and NYU).

A wrapup of this event is coming soon, on the CF360 blog.

NYU QUAD MEET (final/rounds 1-3;  Wed., Feb. 11)

Men's Bouts
NYU 15 (F3, E4, S8), #4 Columbia 12 (F6, E5, S1)
#4 Columbia 16 (F7, E5, S4), Vassar 11 (F2, E4, S5)
#4 Columbia 20 (F6, E9, S5), Sacred Heart 7 (F3, E0, S4)

NYU 16 (F5, E5, S6), Sacred Heart 11 (F4, E4, S3)
NYU 17 (F6, E6, S5), Vassar 10 (F3, E3, S4)

Women's Bouts 
#4 Columbia 23 (F7, E8, S8), NYU 4 (F2, E1, S1)
#4 Columbia 26 (F8, E9, S9), Vassar 1(F1, E0, S0)
#4 Columbia 20 (F7, E5, S8), Sacred Heart 7 (F2, E4, S1)

NYU 18 (F9, E5, S4), Sacred Heart 9 (F0, E4, S5)
NYU 19 (F8, E3, S8), Vassar 8 (F1, E6, S1)

As expected, the schedule for tonight's four-team meet at NYU will include three rounds (5:00, 6:00 and 7:00) – but NFC rivals Sacred Heart and Vassar will not face each other (thus there will be only one match in round-3). CF360 has contacted the great folks at NYU, who plan to fax along scoresheets after the matches. We will break down the results to see if certain fencers continue their season-long domination and if others manage to pull off some upsets.

NYU Quad Meet (Wed., Feb. 11)
Round-1 – Columbia vs. Sacred Heart ... NYU vs. Vassar
Round-2 – Columbia vs. Vassar ... NYU vs. Sacred Heart
Round-3 – Columbia vs. NYU

Harvard women's epeeist Noam Mills and Columbia men's saberist Jeff Spear have been named the national collegiate fencers of the week for Feb. 2-8, in the third installment of the awards (as announced by CollegeFencing360.com).

It was an impressive week for freshmen from several teams, as three of the individuals who have received CF360 weekly honorable mention also are newcomers: Duke men's foilist Dan Cohen, Princeton women's foilist Lucille Jarry and Harvard women's sabreist Caroline Vloka (Pennsylvania junior men's sabreist Jonathan Berkowsky rounds out the honorable mention selection).

For the most recent fencer-of-the-week release, click on the awards tab above or the link included below:

CF360 Fencers of the Week

Note that additional details and action photos of these six fencers will be added to that fencer-of-the-week release. We know that this site is growing quickly in popularity – with nearly 1,100 unique visitors in a span of two weeks. With a relatively light week – although plans are in the works to track college fencers at the upcoming Junior Olympics – we hope to catch up on recent event summaries, in addition to introducing some new offerings to the site. There also will be a blog report on today's meet at NYU (featuring Columbia, Sacred Heart and Vassar, plus the host Violets).

As always, stay tuned and please pass along your feedback, site suggestions, etc. to: editor@collegefencing360.com.

The CollegeFencing360 log will passing on more recap notes and details from recent tournaments – including the Ivy League Round-Robin, ND Duals, and NFCs, plus the Stevens Tech and NJIT meets (along with some follow-up thoughts on the Northwestern Duals and the mens bouts from the M.I.T. Invitational). The past two weekends have featured two huge tournaments (at Northwestern and Notre Dame), but we expect to provide bout highlights from those events later today.

We also hope to report on the midweek matches coming up and will try to track what college fencers are competing (and how they do) at this weekend's annual Junior Olympics, to be held in Albuquerque.

We expect to be able to announce fencers of the week later tonight, after checking out various scoresheets to confirm how certain fencers did against their top opponents.

Two long days of matches at the Notre Dame Duals (covering 123 total matches) yielded very few upsets, while both Irish teams went undefeated over the two-day event. The co-#1 Notre Dame men were 6-0 on Sunday (including a 15-12 win over #7 Stanford) and have ended the regular season undefeated (33-0) for the 21st time in the ND men's fencing program's history and first time since 2003 (24-0). The Irish defeated nine top-10 opponents – co-#1 Penn State, #3 Ohio State (2), #4 Ohio State (2), #7 Stanford, #9 St. John's (2) and #10 North Carolina – during their undefeated regular season.

It marks the most wins ever by a Notre Dame fencing team (men's or women's) during an undefeted season (the 1995 ND women were 32-0, while the '76 and '86 Irish men's teams both were 26-0). No previous Notre Dame fencing teams had even totaled more than 32 wins in a season, as the 1996 (29-3) and 2006 (29-1) ND men's teams each had 29 wins while the '95 Irish women's squad posted its 32-win total.

The #2 Notre Dame women's team (4-0 on Sunday) ended the regular season with a 32-2 record (both losses came at the NYU Duals, vs. #3 Ohio State and #4 Columbia), tying the '95 squad for most wins ever by an ND women's team.

Northwestern's #6-ranked women's team won all seven of its bouts on Sunday – highlighted by victories over West Region teams Stanford (19-8), UC San Diego (20-8) and Air Force (24-3) – for a season record of 34-7. The Wildcats women had a balanced effort in those three key wins, totaling 22 victories in foil, 21 in epee and 20 in sabre (vs. Stanford, UCSD and AFA).

In addition to the top-10 matchup with Stanford, the Notre Dame men posted key Sunday wins over UC San Diego (18-9) and Wayne State (19-8, including an 8-1 mark vs. WSU's talented elite squad).

Stanford (21-6; 6-3 in epee) and Air Force (18-9; 4-5) also posted wins over Wayne State.

Florida's non-varsity women's club team totaled five wins over varsity opponents during the two-day tournament (including an early win Sunday over Air Force, 17-10). The Michigan State men's and women's club teams each totaled four wins over varsity foes during the weekend, including Sunday wins over Cal Tech (20-7 for the women, 16-11 for the men).

The Northwestern men's club team also defeated a varsity team on Sunday, with a 17-10 win over Cleveland State (led by eight wins in sabre).

More details from the ND Duals will be posted on the blog, as they become available.

NOTRE DAME DUALS (final day-2 scores; Sunday, Feb. 8)

#6 Northwestern 19 (F7, E8, S4), Stanford 8 (F2, E1, S5)
#6 Northwestern 20 (F6, E7, S7), UC San Diego 7 (F3, E2, S2)
#6 Northwestern 24 (F9, E6, S9), Air Force 3 (F0, E3, S0)
#6 Northwestern 23 (F8, E9, S6), Cal Tech 4 (F1, E0, S3)
#6 Northwestern 25 (F9, E7, S0), Cleveland State 2 (F0, E2, S0)
#6 Northwestern 21 (F9, E5, S7), Florida 6 (F0, E4, S2)
#6 Northwestern 25 (F9, E7, S9), Oberlin (F0, E2, S0)

Stanford 23 (F6, E9, S8), Cleveland State 2 (F1, E0, S1)
Stanford 21 (F6, E9, S6), Detroit 6 (F3, E1, S3)
Stanford 24 (F6, E9, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 3 (F3, E0, S0)

Florida 17 (F4, E7, S6), Air Force 10 (F5, E2, S3)
Air Force 19 (F7, E6, S6), Wayne State 8 (F2, E3, S3)
Air Force 20 (F8, E5, S7), Cleveland State 7 (F1, E4, S2)
Air Force 19 (F4, E6, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 8 (F5, E3, S0)

UC San Diego 23 (F8, E8, S7), Detroit 4 (F1, E1, S2)
UC San Diego 24 (F8, E7, S9), Lawrence 3 (F1, E2, S0)

Wayne State 15 (F5, E8, S2), Cal Tech 12 (F4, E1, S7)
Wayne State 15 (F4, E6, S5), Michigan State 12 (F5, E3, S4)
Detroit 17 (F4, E6, S7), Cal Tech 10 (F5, E3, S2)
Detroit 16 (F3, E4, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 11 (F6, E5, S0)

Florida 11 (F3, E6, S2), Oberlin 10 (F6, E3, S1)
Michigan State 20 (F4, E9, S7), Cal Tech 7 (F5, E0, S2)
Michigan State 14 (F7, E6, S1), Florida 13 (F2, E2, S8)
Michigan State 23 (F6, E8, S9), Oberlin 4 (F3, E1, S0)   

#7 Stanford 21 (F8, E6, S7), Wayne State 6 (F1, E3, S2)
#7 Stanford 24 (F6, E9, S9), Detroit 3 (F3, E0, S0)
#7 Stanford 24 (F7, E8, S9), Cleveland State 3 (F2, E1, S0) 

Air Force 18 (F8, E4, S6), Wayne State 9 (F1, E5, S3)
Air Force 23 (F7, E8, S8), Cleveland State 4 (F2, E1, S1)
Air Force 18 (F9, E3, S6), Northwestern 9 (F0, E6, S3)
Air Force 20 (F9, E6, S5), Florida 7 (F0, E3, S4)

UC San Diego 22 (F5, E9, S8), Detroit 5 (F4, E0, S1)
UC San Diego 25 (F9, E8, S8), Lawrence 1 (F0, E1, S0)
UC San Diego 18 (F8, E4, S6), Northwestern 9 (F1, E5, S3)

Wayne State 17 (F7, E5, S5), Michigan State 10 (F2, E4, S4)
Detroit 15 (F9, E2, S4), Cal Tech 12 (F0, E7, S5)
Detroit 24 (F9, E8, S7), Lawrence 3 (F0, E1, S2)
Cal Tech 14 (F4, E2, S8), Cleveland State 13 (F5, E7, S1)

Northwestern 17 (F5, E4, S8), Cleveland State 10 (F4, E5, S1)
Northwestern 17 (F6, E6, S5), Florida 10 (F3, E3, S4)
Florida 20 (F6, E7, S7), Michigan State 7 (F3, E2, S2)
Florida 21 (F7, E5, S9), Oberlin 6 (F2, E4, S0)
Michigan State 16 (F7, E6, S3), Cal Tech 11 (F2, E3, S6)
Michigan State 22 (F9, E5, S8), Oberlin 5 (F0, E4, S1)

It didn't take long for the Ivy League Round-Robin tournament to produce an upset (based on the national top-10 polls), as the #6 Pennsylvania men doubled up #4 Columbia in an 18-9 win. The Quakers swept all three weapons, winning seven foil bouts, six in sabre and five in epee.

Eight of the nine Columbia fencers posted winning records, led by a 3-0 mark from foilist Zane Grodman. Columbia ace sabreist Jeff Spear (the '08 NCAAA and Ivy League champion) and two-time epee All-American Dwight Smith also went 3-0, but the rest of the Lions fencers combined for only a 3-18 record.

The Penn men – who had the benefit of drawing a bye in Sunday's round-1 – have yet to lose this season (13-0), highlighted by Sunday's victory and an earlier 17-10 win over co-#1 Penn State.

The Columbia men's team results in 2009 have yet to feature a victory over a top-10 opponent, with a combined record of 3-7 in the regular season and Ivy League postseason. The Lions have suffered two losses each to co-#1 Columbia, #3 Ohio State and #9 St. John's, plus the loss to Penn (Columbia's wins have come vs. Wayne State, Stevens Tech and Yale).

Penn sabre All-Americans Jonathan Berkowsky ('08 Ivy league runner-up) and Andrew Bielen lost to Spear, but each posted wins over the other Columbia sabreists (Alex Rudnicki and Trevis Joyner, who both also lost to Anders Eiremo).

Columbia entered the match with a clear foil edge (on paper), led by 2008 NCAA semifinalist Kurt Getz (the '08 Ivy League champion) and 2008 NCAA qualifier Sherif Farrag. But Getz was shut out and Farrag won just once, as Grodman combined with Alex Simmons and Vidur Kapur (both 2-1) for a 7-2 foil team vitory.

The Lions also figured to win more epee bouts, with three veterans who all have fenced at the NCAAs (Smith, fellow All-American Max Czapanskiy and Lorenzo Casertano). Czapanskiy (1-2) and Casertano (0-2) combined for only one win, as Penn won the weapon behind two wins each from Ben Wieder (a two-time NCAA participant) and Samuel Monk.

The Harvard-Princeton matchup projected to be one of the most competitive in the Ivy League Championships and that certainly proved to be the case in the women's match, with the #5 Crimson edging the #7 Tigers by a single point (14-13). In the men's competition, #5 Princeton turned in a 17-10 win over #7 Harvard.

Sunday's results mirrored the meetings from earlier in the season, when the Harvard women beat Princeton (17-10) and the Tigers men edged the Crimson (14-13).

The Princeton women actually won two of the weapons against Harvard (6-3 in sabre, 5-4 in foil), but the Crimson's epee unit went 7-2 to deliver the team victory. Three talented newcomers went 3-0 in the tense battle: Harvard sabreist Caroline Vloka (the reigning Penn State Open champion) and epeeist Noam Mills, along with  Princeton foilist Lucille Jarry. Eight other fencers went 2-1, in the highly competitive showdown.

Olympian Emily Cross (the '05 NCAA champion) was the only member of Harvard's deep women's foili unit that posted a winning record (2-1), with the fifth-year senior losing to the upstart Jarry. Harvard's decisive epee victory included the three wins from Mills, plus 2-1 records by All-American Maria Larrson and Lisa Vastola. Both of Princeton's epee wins came from newcomer Susannah Scanlan, with All-American Jasjit Bhinder losing both of her bouts versus Princeton.

(Note: we mistakingly left Mills out of the earlier blog posting for top women's epee newcomers; she now has been added to that listing – the mistake was due to Princeton also having a top newcomer with the same last name, foilist Alexander Mills).

Princeton's victory in the men's match included weapon wins in foil (8-1) and sabre (6-3), while Harvard claimed a 6-3 epee margin. The match featured four fencers who went 3-0: Harvard sabreist Valentin Staller, the Princeton foil duo of Clayton Flanders and Alexander Mills, and Harvard epeeist star Benji Ungar (the 2006 NCAA champion). All three Princeton sabreists – Thomas Abend, NCAA Tournament veteran John Stogin and Craig Limoli – went 2-1 in the match, as did Princeton foilist Gregory Kirschen along with two of the epeeists (Princeton All-American Graham Wicas and Harvard's Karl Harmenberg).

Harvard appeared to have the edge in men's foil, led by three-time NCAA participant Kai Itameri-Kinter (a 2006 All-American) and 2008 NCAA entrant Long Ouyang, but Princeton won five of six bouts against that duo (Itameri-Kinter was 1-2, Ouyang 0-3) – with Flanders (also a 2008 NCAA participant) and Mills both sweeping those top opponents.

Sunday's first four rounds are complete at the Notre Dame Duals, with the following noteworthy results:

• The co-#1 ND men (3-0) remained unbeaten (30-0), with a key 15-12 win over #7 Stanford (both teams won weapons 5-4, ND in sabre and Stanford in epee, but the Irish claimed the key 6-3 foil edge) ... the #2 ND women (3-0) improved to 31-2 for the season, with the top win on Sunday morning coming against UC San Diego (21-6).

• The #6 Northwestern women opened the day with four wins, most notably 20-7 over UCSD.

• Florida's non-varsity/club women's team picked up its fifth win of the weekend over a varsity opponent, with Sunday's 17-12 victory over Air Force (the Gators won seven epee bouts, plus six in sabre and four in foil).

More to come from this event, including an overall wrapup of the two days.

NOTRE DAME DUALS (rounds 1-4; Sunday, Feb. 8)

#6 Northwestern 20 (F6, E7, S7), UC San Diego 7 (F3, E2, S2)
#6 Northwestern 23 (F8, E9, S6), Cal Tech 4 (F1, E0, S3)
#6 Northwestern 25 (F9, E7, S0), Cleveland State 2 (F0, E2, S0)
#6 Northwestern 21 (F9, E5, S7), Florida 6 (F0, E4, S2)

Stanford 23 (F6, E9, S8), Cleveland State 2 (F1, E0, S1)
Stanford 21 (F6, E9, S6), Detroit 6 (F3, E1, S3)
Stanford 24 (F6, E9, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 3 (F3, E0, S0)

Florida 17 (F4, E7, S6), Air Force 12 (F5, E2, S3)
Air Force 19 (F7, E6, S6), Wayne State 8 (F2, E3, S3)
Air Force 20 (F8, E5, S7), Cleveland State 7 (F1, E4, S2)
Air Force 19 (F4, E6, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 8 (F5, E3, S0)

UC San Diego 23 (F8, E8, S7), Detroit 4 (F1, E1, S2)
UC San Diego 24 (F8, E7, S9), Lawrence 3 (F1, E2, S0)

Wayne State 15 (F4, E6, S5), Michigan State 12 (F5, E3, S4)
Detroit 17 (F4, E6, S7), Cal Tech 10 (F5, E3, S2)
Detroit 16 (F3, E4, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 11 (F6, E5, S0)

Florida 11 (F3, E6, S2), Oberlin 10 (F6, E3, S1)
Michigan State 20 (F4, E9, S7), Cal Tech 7 (F5, E0, S2)
Michigan State 14 (F7, E6, S1), Florida 13 (F2, E2, S8)
Michigan State 23 (F6, E8, S9), Oberlin 4 (F3, E1, S0)   

Air Force 18 (F9, E3, S6), Northwestern 9 (F0, E6, S3)
Cal Tech 14 (F4, E2, S8), Cleveland State 13 (F5, E7, S1)

Here's an overview of the top Ivy League men's fencers, who will be competing today at Columbia in part-1 of the league's Round-Robin Championship (see previous blog post for women's fencers overview):

• MEN'S SABRE – Columbia junior Jeff Spear is the defending champion from both the NCAA Championships and the Ivy League Round-Robin (14-1) … Penn has an impressive collection of men's sabre talent: junior Jonathan Berkowsky (11th at '08 NCAAs; tied for Ivy League runner-up at 13-2), senior three-time NCAA participant Matthew Kolasa (13th in '07, 16th in '08, 17th in '06; also 6th at '08 Ivy meets, 11-4) and veteran Andrew Bielen (10th at '07 NCAAs) … the only other Ivy League men's sabreist with NCAA Tournament experience in Princeton's John Stogin (20th in '08) … beyond Penn and Columbia, it will be interesting to see how the men's sabre bouts shake out in matches involving the other four teams.

• MEN'S EPEE – This weapon also features an elite Ivy League talent, as Princeton sophomore Graham Wicas placed third at the 2008 NCAAs while Harvard fifth-year senior Benji Ungar won the 2006 NCAA men's epee title (also 7th in '05, but did not fence past two years due to bid for U.S. Olympic team) … another 2008 Olympic hopeful has returned to Ivy League fencing, in the form of Columbia two-time All-American Dwight Smith (4th at '07 NCAAs, 7th in '06) … Wicas was fifth in the '08 Ivy League Round-Robin (8-4), with four current seniors finishing above him: Columbia's Max Czapanskiy (13-2) and Lorenzo Casertano (11-4), and Yale's Michael Pearce (10-2) … Pearce is a three-time NCAA participant, earning All-America honors in 2006 (5th; also 21st in '07 and 13th in '08) … Czapanskiy earned All-America honors at the '07 NCAAs (12th) … three other current Ivy League men's epeeists competed at the 2008 NCAAs: Columbia's Casterano (15th), Brown's Adam Yarnell (20th) and Penn's Benjamin Wieder (23rd, also 17th in '07).

• MEN'S FOIL – Penn's older Berkowsky brother, four-time NCAA top-four finisher Ron, has moved on, after finishing as the 2008 NCAA runner-up … Columbia junior Kurt Getz also was a 2008 NCAA semifinalist (3rd) and finished atop the '08 Ivy Round-Robin standings … several other top fencers return from the '08 Ivy elite: Yale junior John Gurrieri (11-4), Penn sophomore Alex Salsman (10-5), Harvard senior Kai Itameri-Kinter (10-5) and Columbia senior Sherif Farrag (10-5) … Itameri-Kinter was a 2006 All-American (6th; also 15th at '07 NCAAs and 19th in '08) while Gurrieri is a two-time NCAA participant (13th in '08, 18th in '07) … five other current Ivy League men's foilists competed in the 2008 NCAAs: Columbia's Farrag (16th), Brown's Adam Pantel (17th), Yale's Nathaniel Botwinick (20th), Harvard's Long Ouyang (21st) and Princeton's Clayton Flanders (24th) … one key newcomer to watch is Princeton's Alexander Mills (Penn State Open runner-up; bronze medalist at Jr. NAC in Colorado Springs).

Here are some preview notes for today's Ivy League Round-Robin matches (12 total, with nine more in two weeks at Providence). The blog also will include a rundown of top fencers at this event, to be posted shortly:

• Columbia swept both the men's and women's Ivy League titles in 2008, after also winning both in 2007 (the Columbia men actually shared the '07 title with Harvard). Harvard won both the men's and women's Ivy League titles in 2006.

• The final men's standings in 2008 were: Columbia (5-0), Penn (4-1), Harvard (3-2), Princeton (2-3), Yale (1-4) and Brown (0-5) … the Columbia women swept all their matches (6-0), followed by Penn (5-1), Brown (3-3), Harvard (3-3), Princeton (2-4), Cornell (2-4) and Yale (0-6) … the Brown women's impressive third-place tie included wins over Princeton (16-11) and Harvard (14-13).

• COLUMBIA – both teams have fenced only eight dual meets this season (on the same weekend, at the St. John's Invitational and NYU Duals), with the 3rd-ranked men compiling only two wins (vs. six losses) while the #3 Columbia women are 6-2 … the Columbia men own wins over Wayne Syaye and Stevens Tech (both 18-9), while losing twice to co-#1 Notre Dame (10-17, 12-15), #3 Ohio State (9-18, 10-17) and #9 St. John's (9-18, 13-14) … the Lions women own two wins over #3 OSU (17-10, 15-12), along with splits against #2 ND (9-18, 14-13) and SJU (20-7, 12-15), plus wins over #6 Northwestern (16-11) and Wayne State (26-1).

• HARVARD – The #5-ranked Crimson women have compiled a 14-1 record, with key wins over #3 OSU (15-12), #7 Princeton (17-10), #10 Duke (18-9) and St. John's (18-9) … the #7 Harvard men own an 8-5 record, with a 15-12 win over #10 Duke and losses to #3 OSU (10-17), #5 Princceton (13-14) and #9 SJU (13-14).

• PRINCETON – The #5 Tigers men sport a 14-1 record, with the only loss coming to co-#1 Penn State (10-17, at Vassar) … Princeton's men have defeated #7 Harvard (14-13), #10 Duke (17-10) and North Carolina (19-8) … the #7 Princeton women (12-4) own a top win over #10 Duke (20-7), but they have lost to #1 PSU, #5 Harvard (10-17) and #8 Temple twice.

• PENNSYLVANIA – The #6 Penn men own a 12-0 record that includes wins over co-E1 Penn State (17-10), co-#10 teams Duke (19-8) and North Carolina (18-9) … the #9 Quakers women are 11-2, with noteworth wins over #8 Temple (18-9), #10 Duke (19-8) and UNC (21-6), plus losses to #1 PSU (6-21) and #6 Northwestern (12-15).

• YALE – The Bulldogs men (10-3) own a top win over St. John's (15-12, at the Brandeis Invitational), with all three of their losses coming at the NYU Duals (8-19 to #1 ND, 4-23 vs. #3 OSU and 13-14 vs. NYU) … the Yale women (9-4) have dropped matches to #2 ND (4-23), #3 OSU (3-24) and #6 Northwestern (9-18), with a 19-8 win over NYU …

• BROWN – The Bears men are 12-2 while the women carry a 12-4 record … Brown's only match this season vs. a top-10 came at the Brandeis Invitational, where the men lost to #9 St. John's (9-18) and the women lost to an unranked SJU squad (10-17).

Saturday's marathon day of fencing at the Notre Dame Duals – spanning 38 men's bouts and 31 between women's teams – has come to a close, with no major upsets to report. The co-#1 Notre Dame men concluded a 7-0 day (now 27-0 for the season) while the #2 Irish women won all eight of their matches and now are 28-2.

The third-ranked Ohio State men turned in a 5-0 afternoon (the OSU women are not fencing at this event), highlighted by wins over #7 Stanford (17-10) and two other top West Region teams (20-7 vs. Air Force, 19-8 vs. UC San Diego). The Stanford men went 5-1 on Saturday, with key regional wins over Air Force (15-12) and UCSD (19-8). The Air Force men posted a 16-11 win over UCSD, reversing the result from earlier in the day when the AFA and UCSD women faced off (a 22-5 Tritons win).

The OSU men's win over Stanford included seven epee wins and six in foil, with the Cardinal owning the 5-4 edge in sabre. Stanford similarly won two weapons vs. Air Force (8-1 in sabre, 6-3 in foil), with the Falcons nearly sweeping epee (8-1). The AFA-UCSD men's match featured each team winning a weapon 5-4 (the Falcons in epee and Tritons in sabre), but Air Force claimed the key 7-2 edge in epee.

The UC San Diego men also had a noteworthy 18-9 over a Wayne State squad that includes three All-Americans (two in epee and one in sabre). UCSD made the most of its foil bouts against WSU (winning 8-1) and went 6-3 in sabre, easily offsetting a 5-4 epee win by the Warriors.

Rounds 7-11 produced seven more victories by non-varsity/club teams over varsity opposition (all in men's matches): Florida vs. Detroit (16-11), Cleveland State (15-12) and Lawrence (20-7); two by Northwestern (vs. Cal Tech and Detroit, both 16-11); Michigan State vs. Lawrence (20-7) and Oberlin over Lawrence (16-10).

The Florida fencers combined for seven team victories over varsity opponents on Saturday (four by the UF women, three by the men), while the MSU men's and women's teams each defeated three varsity teams.

NOTRE DAME DUALS (final scores; Sat., Feb. 7)

Stanford 15 (F4, E5, S6), Air Force 12 (F5, E4, S3)
Stanford 17 (F4, E8, S5), UC San Diego 10 (F5, E1, S4)
Stanford 20 (F6, E9, S5), Wayne State 7 (F3, E0, S4)
Stanford 15 (F6, E5, S5), Michigan State 4 (F3, E4, S4)

UC San Diego 22 (F9, E5, S8), Air Force 5 (F0, E4, S1)
UC San Diego 21 (F9, E5, S7), Wayne State 6 (F0, E4, S2)
UC San Diego 25 (F9, E7, S9), Cleveland State 2 (F0, E2, S0)
Air Force 20 (F7, E8, S5), Detroit 7 (F2, E1, S4)
Air Force 22 (F8, E5, S9), Oberlin 5 (F1, E4, S0)

Wayne State 19 (F7, E9, S3), Cal Tech 8 (F2, E0, S6)
Wayne State 16 (F6, E7, S3), Florida 11 (F3, E2, S6)
Wayne State 21 (F6, E6, S9), Oberlin 6 (F3, E3, S0)

Detroit 17 (F7, E4, S6), Cal Tech 9 (F2, E4, S3)
Detroit 16 (F4, E4, S8), Oberlin 11 (F5, E5, S1)
Cal Tech 16 (F2, E6, S8), Cleveland State 10 (F6, E3, S1)
Lawrence 14 (F6, E8, S0), Cal Tech 13 (F3, E1, S9)

Florida 19 (F5, E9, S5), Detroit 8 (F4, E0, S4)
Florida 18 (F6, E7, S5), Cal Tech 9 (F3, E2, S4)
Florida 19 (F6, E6, S7), Cleveland State 8 (F3, E3, S2)
Florida 20 (F5, E6, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 7 (F4, E3, S0)

Men's Matches
co-#1 Notre Dame 18 (F6, E5, S7), Air Force 9 (F3, E4, S2)
co-#1 Notre Dame 22 (F9, E5, S8), Cal Tech 5 (F0, E4, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 21 (F6, E8, S7), Detroit 6 (F3, E1, S2)
co-#1 Notre Dame 23 (F9, E6, S8), Cleveland State 4 (F0, E3, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 21 (F7, E7, S7), Florida 6 (F2, E2, S2)
co-#1 Notre Dame 23 (F7, E8, S8), Michigan State 4 (F2, E1, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 20 (F7, E6, S7), Northwestern 7 (F2, E3, S2)

#3 Ohio State 17 (F7, E7, S4), #7 Stanford 10 (F3, E2, S5)
#3 Ohio State 20 (F7, E4, S9), Air Force 7 (F2, E5, S0)
#3 Ohio State 19 (F6, E7, S6), UC San Diego 8 (F3, E2, S3)
#3 Ohio State 25 (F9, E7, S9), Cal Tech 2 (F0, E2, S0)
#3 Ohio State 24 (F8, E8, S8), Florida 3 (F1, E1, S1)

#7 Stanford 15 (F6, E1, S8), Air Force 12 (F3, E8, S1)
#7 Stanford 19 (F4, E7, S8), UC San Diego 8 (F5, E2, S1)
#7 Stanford 24 (F8, E9, S7), Lawrence 3 (F1, E0, S2) 
#7 Stanford 20 (F8, E5, S7), Northwestern 7 (F1, E4, S2)

Air Force 16 (F5, E7, S4), UC San Diego 11 (F4, E2, S5)
Air Force 21 (F4, E9, S8), Detroit 6 (F5, E0, S1)
Air Force 26 (F9, E9, S8), Lawrence 1 (F0, E0, S1)
UC San Diego 18 (F8, E4, S6), Wayne State 9 (F1, E5, S3)
UC San Diego 20 (F8, E3, S9), Cleveland State 7 (F1, E6, S0)

Wayne State 19 (F8, E6, S5), Cal Tech 8 (F1, E3, S4)
Wayne State 20 (F8, E6, S6), Florida 7 (D1, E3, S3)
Wayne State 23 (F9, E5, S9), Oberlin 4 (F0, E4, S0)

Detroit 15 (F8, E1, S6), Michigan State 12 (F1, E8, S3)
Detroit 19 (F9, E1, S9), Oberlin 8 (F0, E8, S0)
Cleveland State 16 (F7, E7, S2), Cal Tech 11 (F2, E2, S7)
Cleveland State 19 (F7, E6, S6), Oberlin 8 (F2, E3, S3)
Cal Tech 23 (F6, E9, S8), Lawrence 4 (F3, E0, S1)

Florida 15 (F4, E6, S5), Cleveland State 12 (F5, E3, S4)
Florida 16 (F0, E9, S7), Detroit 11 (F9,  E0, S2)  
Florida 20 (F4, E9, S7), Lawrence 7 (F5, E0, S2)
Northwestern 16 (F1, E8, S7), Detroit 11 (F8, E1, S2)
Northwestern 15 (F3, E6, S6), Michigan State 12 (F6, E3, S3)
Northwestern 26 (F8, E9, S9), Oberlin (F1, E0, S0) 

Michigan State 15 (F3, S5, S7), Cleveland State 12 (F6, E4, S2)
Michigan State 20 (F6, E8, S6), Lawrence 7 (F1, E1, S3) 
Oberlin 16 (F5, E8, S3), Lawrence 9 (F3, E1, S5)

Stanford freshman men's epeeist Kevin Mo – who impressively won the 2008 Junior World Cup circuit title – is not competing today at the Notre Dame Duals, due a schedule conflict (he is fencing at an international tournament in Basel, Switzerland). The Cardinal men thus are bouting today without Mo, as they take on #3 Ohio State along with fellow West Region teams Air Force and UC San Diego (plus Lawrence and the Northwestern non-varsity team).

Word is that Mo will return to the U.S. in time for Sunday's bouts at Notre Dame, when the #7-ranked Cardinal men will take on co-#1 ND, Cleveland State, Detroit and Wayne State (which features the two-time NCAA champ Slava Zingerman). 

There was some confusion as to when the Stanford and WSU men would fence each other, as the tournament schedule showed those teams facing each other at the end of each day. ... But we have received confirmation that the Stanford-WSU matchup will be in Sunday's final slot (3:00 p.m.). It's possible that the Stanford men will be facing Cal Tech in their final Saturday match (5:00) – we'll find out soon.

Rounds 5-6 from ND Duals: ... The co-#1 Notre Dame men have improved to 24-0, following wins over Detroit (21-6) and Cleveland State (23-4). The #2 Irish women also remained unbeaten today (6-0; 26-2 for the season), with near-shutout victories over those same teams (25-2 vs. UD, 26-1 vs. CSU). There were two key West Region matchups, as the #7 Stanford men defeated UC San Diego (19-8), with a similar win for the Stanford women over UCSD (17-10).

The #3 Ohio State men warmed up with a 24-3 victory over the Florida non-varsity team. Rounds 5-6 also produced three more wins by club/non-varsity teams over varsity opponents: the Michigan State men vs. Cleveland State (15-12), the Florida women over Cal Tech (18-9) and the MSU women vs. Cleveland State (22-5). The Florida women have racked up four wins today over varsity opponents while the MSU women have defeated three varsity teams.

NOTRE DAME DUALS (rounds 1-6)

Stanford 15 (F4, E5, S6), Air Force 12 (F5, E4, S3)
Stanford 17 (F4, E8, S5), UC San Diego 10 (F5, E1, S4)
Stanford 20 (F6, E9, S5), Wayne State 7 (F3, E0, S4)
Stanford 15 (F6, E5, S5), Michigan State 4 (F3, E4, S4)

UC San Diego 22 (F9, E5, S8), Air Force 5 (F0, E4, S1)
UC San Diego 21 (F9, E5, S7), Wayne State 6 (F0, E4, S2)
UC San Diego 25 (F9, E7, S9), Cleveland State 2 (F0, E2, S0)
Air Force 20 (F7, E8, S5), Detroit 7 (F2, E1, S4)
Air Force 22 (F8, E5, S9), Oberlin 5 (F1, E4, S0)

Wayne State 19 (F7, E9, S3), Cal Tech 8 (F2, E0, S6)
Detroit 17 (F7, E4, S6), Cal Tech 9 (F2, E4, S3)
Cal Tech 16 (F2, E6, S8), Cleveland State 10 (F6, E3, S1)
Lawrence 14 (F6, E8, S0), Cal Tech 13 (F3, E1, S9)

Wayne State 16 (F6, E7, S3), Florida 11 (F3, E2, S6)
Wayne State 21 (F6, E6, S9), Oberlin 6 (F3, E3, S0)
Florida 19 (F5, E9, S5), Detroit 8 (F4, E0, S4)
Florida 18 (F6, E7, S5), Cal Tech 9 (F3, E2, S4)
Florida 19 (F6, E6, S7), Cleveland State 8 (F3, E3, S2)
Florida 20 (F5, E6, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 7 (F4, E3, S0)

Men's Matches
co-#1 Notre Dame 22 (F9, E5, S8), Cal Tech 5 (F0, E4, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 21 (F6, E8, S7), Detroit 6 (F3, E1, S2)
co-#1 Notre Dame 23 (F9, E6, S8), Cleveland State 4 (F0, E3, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 21 (F7, E7, S7), Florida 6 (F2, E2, S2)

#3 Ohio State 24 (F8, E8, S8), Florida 3 (F1, E1, S1)
#7 Stanford 19 (F4, E7, S8), UC San Diego 8 (F5, E2, S1)
#7 Stanford 24 (F8, E9, S7), Lawrence 3 (F1, E0, S2) 
#7 Stanford 20 (F8, E5, S7), Northwestern 7 (F1, E4, S2)

Air Force 21 (F4, E9, S8), Detroit 6 (F5, E0, S1)
Air Force 26 (F9, E9, S8), Lawrence 1 (F0, E0, S1)
Wayne State 23 (F9, E5, S9), Oberlin 4 (F0, E4, S0)
Michigan State 15 (F3, S5, S7), Cleveland State 12 (F6, E4, S2)

Rounds 3-4 have completed at the Notre Dame Duals, with the #2 Irish women picking up two noteworthy wins (21-6 vs. UC San Diego, 23-4 vs. Air Force) while the co-#1 ND men have opened their Saturday matches with victories over Cal Tech (22-5) and the Florida club team (21-6). Note that an earlier match, between the ND-UCSD men, was cancelled.

Possibly the most noteworthy match of the late morning saw the Stanford women defeat fellow West Region team Air Force, 15-12 (the Cardinal won six sabre bouts, plus five in epee and four in foil). There were four more wins by non-varsity club teams over varsity squads (all women): Florida vs. Cleveland State (19-8) and Lawrence (20-7), Michigan State vs. in-state foe Detroit (19-8), and Oberlin vs. Lawrence (23-4). It should be noted that Lawrence is not fielding a women's sabre team at this event, and thus is forfeiting all nine points in that weapon

CF360 did some checking on Florida and discovered that the Gators were one of the nation's top fencing clubs a year ago, placing third at the national meet (sponsored by the U.S. Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs). The Florida women finished first at that '08 national club tournament, with first-place finishes in both women's foil and epee (9th in sabre).

The MSU women's club placed sixth at the '08 national meet, led by its sixth-place women's epee team.

NOTRE DAME DUALS (rounds 1-4)

Stanford 15 (F4, E5, S6), Air Force 12 (F5, E4, S3)
Stanford 20 (F6, E9, S5), Wayne State 7 (F3, E0, S4)
Stanford 15 (F6, E5, S5), Michigan State 4 (F3, E4, S4)

UC San Diego 22 (F9, E5, S8), Air Force 5 (F0, E4, S1)
UC San Diego 21 (F9, E5, S7), Wayne State 6 (F0, E4, S2)
UC San Diego 25 (F9, E7, S9), Cleveland State 2 (F0, E2, S0)
Air Force 22 (F8, E5, S9), Oberlin 5 (F1, E4, S0)

Wayne State 19 (F7, E9, S3), Cal Tech 8 (F2, E0, S6)
Detroit 17 (F7, E4, S6), Cal Tech 9 (F2, E4, S3)
Cal Tech 16 (F2, E6, S8), Cleveland State 10 (F6, E3, S1)
Lawrence 14 (F6, E8, S0), Cal Tech 13 (F3, E1, S9)

Wayne State 16 (F6, E7, S3), Florida 11 (F3, E2, S6)
Florida 19 (F5, E9, S5), Detroit 8 (F4, E0, S4)
Florida 19 (F6, E6, S7), Cleveland State 8 (F3, E3, S2)
Florida 20 (F5, E6, S9/forfeit), Lawrence 7 (F4, E3, S0)

Men's Matches
co-#1 Notre Dame 22 (F9, E5, S8), Cal Tech 5 (F0, E4, S1)
co-#1 Notre Dame 21 (F7, E7, S7), Florida 6 (F2, E2, S2)
#7 Stanford 24 (F8, E9, S7), Lawrence 3 (F1, E0, S2)

Some of the top veteran fencers from teams in the 14-team field at the 2009 Notre Dame Duals are listed below. Also note that several newcomers – such as Notre Dame men's foilist Gerek Meinhardt (the youngest Olympian in U.S. fencing history) and national junior epee champions Kevin Mo (Stanford) and Courtney Hurley (ND) – could prove to be some of the nation's top collegiate fencers this season.

Four of the six fencers who won 2008 NCAA titles are from teams in the 2009 Notre Dame Duals field: Wayne State men's epeeist Slava Zingerman (NCAA champ in '07 and '08), Ohio State men's foilist Andras Horanyi (also a two-time NCAA individual champion), ND women's epeeist Kelley Hurley and ND women's sabreist Sarah Borrmann (the other two 2008 NCAA champions were current Columbia men's sabreist Jeff Spear and former St. John's women's foilist Monika Golebiewski).

Horanyi – who is pictured at left – also was the 2006 NCAA runner-up (behind former OSU teammate Boaz Ellis) while ND's Hurley was the '07 runner-up, as a freshman. The 14-team field includes one other fencer who has been an NCAA runner-up: Ohio State men's sabreist Mike Momtselidze ('08; also 4th in '07).

Two other fencers from teams at the ND Duals have reached the semifinal round at previous NCAAs: Notre Dane women's foilist Adi Nott (3rd in '07, 4th in '08; also 6th in '06) and epeeist Ewa Nelip (3rd in '08). Nelip – the reigning national fencer of the week (after going 18-0 at the Northwestern Duals – will not be competing for the Irish this weekend, after being called in by the Polish fencing federation to compete at a World Cup Grand Prix event in Rome.  

The 10 varsity team competing at the 2009 ND Duals teams include a total of 27 fencers who have earned All-America (top-12) honors at previous NCAA Championships:

• Five Men's Foilists – OSU's Horanyi and Ben Parkins (9th in '08), and the ND trio of Steve Kubik (8th in '08), Zach Schirtz (11th in '08) and Mark Kubik  (7th in '07; also 21st in '06). 

• Six Men's Epeeists – WSU's Zingerman and Mykhaylo Mazur (9th in '07, while fencing for OSU), ND's Karol Kostka (11th in '07; also 13th in '08 and 18th in '06), OSU's Jason Pryor (10th in '08; also 17th in '06 and 20th in '07), Stanford's Clayton Kenney (11th in '08, 15th in '07, 20th in '08) and Air Force's Peter French (6th in '08, 14th in '07).

• Six Men's Sabreists – OSU's Momtselidze and Sergey Smirnov (11th in '07; also 14th in '08), ND's Barron Nydam (6th in '08) and Bill Thanhouser (6th in '07; also 13th in '08), Stanford's Teddy Levitt (9th in '06, 14th in '07) and Wayne State's Jakub Gibczynski (10th in '08) ... note that Smirnov has not fenced for OSU at the various college tournaments over the past two weeks.

• Three Women's Foilists: ND's Nott and Hayley Reese (11th in '08), and Northwestern's Samantha Nemecek (7th in '07, 8th in '06 and '08). 

• Four Women's Epeeists: ND's Hurley and Nelip, and the Northwestern duo of Christa French (6th in '07, 10th in '08) and Joanna Niklinska (12th in '08).

• Three Women's Sabreists: ND's Borrmann and Eileen Hassett (5th in '08), and Stanford's Eva Jellison (8th in '06, 9th in '08, 10th in '07).

The NU Duals teams include 15 other fencers who have competed in past NCAAs but not been top-12/All-Americans: ND women's foilist Emilie Prot (14th in '07), women's sabreist Ashley Serrette (16th in '07) and men's epeeist Brent Kelly (21st in '08, while fencing for Columbia) ... OSU men's epeeist Sean Harder (19th in '08) ... Northwestern women's epeeist Kaylee French (14th in '07) ... 

Stanford men's foilist Phil Arendondo (15th in '08, 20th in '07), men's sabreists  Lucas Janson (19th in '08) and Max Murphy (19th in '08), women's foilist Jessica Walker (21st in '08), women's epeeist Brittany Leader (17th in '07) and women's sabreist Sarah Parker (15th in '08) ... Air Force men's epeeist Daniel Trapani (14th in '08) and men's sabreist Michael O'Connor (24th in '07) ... UC San Diego men's foilist Ben Dorn (18th in '08) and men's sabreist Bryan Kim (22nd in '08).