CF360 Blog | CF360: Your one-stop resource for college fencing information — past, present and future.

CF360 Blog Archive November 2009

Sunday's Harvard Duals (Nov. 29) to Feature Penn State & Princeton (7-team field)

The fall semester typically does not feature many key college fencing tournaments – as most of the noteworthy dual meets come in Jan. through March. That trend will chance on Sunday, Nov. 29, when the Harvard Duals will feature several of the nation's top teams and numerous elite individual fencers. In addition to the host Crimson, the seven-team field will include defending NCAA champion Penn State and the up-and-coming Princeton squad, along with North Carolina, Vassar and Sacred Heart.

College Fencing 360 will be tracking this bonus fall event and will be posting updates on the CF360 blog, the Twitter feed and the free text-message updates.

Here's Sunday schedule for the Harvard Duals:

Round 1 (10:00 a.m.)

Penn State vs. NYU ... Harvard vs. Sacred Heart ... North Carolina vs. Princeton

Round 2 (11:00 a.m.)

Penn State vs. North Carolina ... Princeton vs. NYU ... Vassar vs. Harvard

Round 3 (12 p.m.)

Penn State vs. Harvard ... Sacred Heart vs. North Carolina ... Vassar vs.NYU

Round 4 (1:30 p.m.)

Penn State vs. Princeton ... Harvard vs. North Carolina ... Vassar vs.Sacred Heart

Round 5 (2:30 p.m.)

Penn State vs. Sacred Heart ... North Carolina vs. NYU ... Vassar vs.Princeton

Round 6 (3:30 p.m.)
Harvard vs. NYU ... Princeton vs. Sacred Heart ... Vassar vs.North Carolina

Round 7 (4:30 p.m.)
Harvard vs. Princeton ... NYU vs. Sacred Heart ... Vassar vs. Penn State

Nov 29, 2009 3:22 AM

Penn State Open Recap #4 - Men's Sabre

By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Notre Dame junior Avery Zuck (left) emerged from the pool rounds at the Penn State Open as the top seed and went on to post four more wins to win the title.

Two fencers currently listed in the top-10 of the USFA national men's sabre rankings – Notre Dame junior All-American Avery Zuck (Beaverton, Ore.) and Harvard sophomore Valentin Staller (Old Field, N.Y.) – met in the men's sabre final bout at the recent Penn State Open (Nov. 22), with Zuck posting the 15-10 victory. Unlike in the earlier women's events – when several of the top seeds failed to reach the semifinals or title bouts – both of the top-two seeds advanced all the way through the direct-elimination, as Zuck had claimed the #1 seed (42-fencer field) following his strong showing in the pool bouts, while Staller was the #2.

zuck 10 copy

Avery Zuck (pictured on the right of this photo) narrowly missed the NCAA semifinals eight months earlier (also at Penn State), finishing 5th ('09 NCAAs photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Zuck – who placed 5th at the 2008 Penn State Open (14th in '07) – opened the DE by beating ND teammate Anthony Schlehuber (#16 seed; so.; Carmel, Ind.) in a 15-10 bout. He then outlasted Harvard freshman Thomas Kolasa (Princeton, N.J.) in a 15-12 quarterfinal, followed by a challenging semifinal vs. Penn State sophomore and 2009 NCAA champion Aleksander Achocki (Clark, N.J.). Zuck (a 5th-place finisher at the '09 NCAA, also held at PSU) was able to win that bout, 15-11, against the 5th-seeded Ochocki, before topping Staller in the title bout.

IMG_0143 copy

Harvard sophomore Valentin Staller (pictured at '09 NCAAs), one of the nation's up-and-coming young sabreists, reached the title bout at the 2009 Penn State Open (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Staller (9th at '08 PSU Open; 15th at '09 NCAAs) surrendered only 12 points in his first two DE bouts, posting an easy 15-3 win over Penn State sophomore Bobby Thompson (#15 seed; Portland, Ore.) before a 15-9 quarterfinal bout vs. 10th-seeded Princeton junior John Stogin (Wilmette, Ill.). Penn State had another fencer – junior Daniel Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) – reach the semifinals, but Staller registered a 15-10 win over the 6th-seeded Bak (the defending champion at this event and the '07 runner-up). The PSU teammates then met in the 3rd-place but, with Bak edging Ochocki in a 15-13 decision (reversing their '09 NCAA semifinal, held at PSU, which Ochocki won by the same score).

Ochocki and Bak copy

The Penn State duo of sophomore Aleksander Ochocki (left) and Daniel Bak (right) – pictured during 2009 NCAA round-robin action – met in the third-place bout at the recent Penn State Open ('09 NCAAs photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Bak – an NCAA semifinalist in '08 and '09 – had an easy 15-6 win over Notre Dame Jason Choy (#11 seed; Basking Ridge, N.J.) in the round-of-16, followed by a 15-10 quarterfinal vs. ND junior Barron Nydam (#14 seed; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) in a matchup between two-time All-Americans. Ochocki (3rd at '08 PSU Open) also had a comfortable win to open the DE, winning 15-7 vs. Princeton senior Thomas Abend (#12 seed; Carlisle, Mass.) before a closer bout in a 15-11 quarterfinal vs. 13th-seeded Yale freshman Colin Mills (Boston, Mass.).

FNM_0910_Kolasa_Thomas_026-1

Harvard freshman Thomas Kolasa (left) joined teammate Valentin Staller as a top finisher at the Penn State Open, placing fifth.

The other round-of-16 bouts went as follows: Harvard's Kolasa edgeed 8th-seeded ND sophomore Keith Feldman (Stony Brook, N.Y.) in a 15-14 bout ... Princeton's Stogin defeated Ohio State junior Robert Douville (#7 seed; Fayetteville, Ga.), 15-11 ... Yale's Mills posted a 15-10 win over ND freshman William McGough (#4 seed; Bronxville, N.Y.), with Notre Dame's Nydam winning by the same score, vs. sophomore teammate Marcel Frenkel (#3 seed; Sao Paulo, Brazil).

IMG_0221 copy

Notre Dame two-time All-American Barron Nydam (pictured at left, during action at the 2009 NCAAs) stumbled in the Penn State Open pool round and was unable to make a return to the title bout (placed 8th).

Nydam – who placed 6th at the '08 NCAAs and 10th in '09 – was runner-up at the Penn State Open in 2008, after placing 4th in '09. ... Stogin also was a 2009 NCAA participant (19th), with his previous two PSU Open finishes including 9th in '07 and 15th in '08. ... His teammate Abend now has participated in four Penn State Opens (22nd-10th-11th, from '06-'08), with Thompson placing 8th at the 2007 PSU Open while Frenkel (in '08) and Douville ('07) both finishing 17th in their previous appearances at this event.

IMG_0270 copy

Princeton junior John Stogin (left) – pictured during the 2009 NCAAs – reached the quarterfinals at the '09 PSU Open (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

There was one other noteworthy men's sabre competitor at the 2009 Penn State Open, as North Carolina junior Kevin Zeichman (19th at '09 NCAAs) placed 21st. Several of the top collegiate men's sabreists – including seven of the 12 All-Americans from the '09 NCAAs – were noticeably absent, led by St. John's sophomore Darryl Homer (the '09 NCAA runner-up) and Columbia senior Jeff Spear ('08 NCAA champ). Others of note that were not among the participants: University of Pennsylvania senior Jon Berkowsky (6th at '09 NCAAs), Ohio State sophomore Max Stearns (6th), SJU sophomore Alejandro Rojas (11th), and the Stanford duo of juniors Lucas Janson (9th) and Max Murphy (12th).

2419642

North Carolina junior Kevin Zeichman (left) was one of several 2009 NCAA participants who returned to Penn State last week for the PSU Open.

Several of the fencers mentioned in the text above currently hold top-12 status in the U.S. Fencing Association's national rankings for U.S. senior-level men's sabrists: Homer (4th), Zuck (7th), Spear (8th), Staller (9th), Bak (11th) and Nydam (12th).

2009 Penn State Max Garret Open – Men's Sabre

FNM_0910_Staller_Valentin_008

Harvard sophomore Valentin Staller (left)

FINAL

(1) Avery Zuck (Notre Dame)
def. (2) Valentin Staller (Harvard) ... 15-10

Penn State junior Daniel Bak (left)

SEMIFINALS

(1) Avery Zuck (ND) def. (5) Alekander Ochocki (Penn State) ... 15-11
(2) Valentin Staller (HARV) def. (6) Daniel Bak (PSU) ... 15-10

Penn State sophomore Aleksander Ochocki won the 2009 NCAA title (pictured, at left), with a semifinal win over current PSU junior Daniel Bak – but Bak won by the same score (15-13) last week in the Penn State Open semifinals (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

THIRD-PLACE BOUT

(6) Daniel Bak (PSU) def. (5) Aleksander Ochocki (Penn State) ... 15-13

Penn State junior John Stogin (left)

QUARTERFINALS
(1) Avery Zuck (ND) def. (9) Thomas Kolasa (HARV) ... 15-12
(2) Valentin Staller (HARV) def. (10) John Stogin (PRIN) ... 15-9
(5) Alekander Ochocki (PSU) def. (13) Colin Mills (Yale) ... 15-11
(6) Daniel Bak (PSU) def. (14) Barron Nydam (ND) ... 15-10

Notre Dame junior Barron Nydam (left)

ROUND-OF-16

(1) Avery Zuck (ND) def. (16) Anthony Schlehuber (ND) ... 15-10
(2) Valentin Staller (HARV) def. (15) Robert Thompson (PSU) ... 15-3
(5) Alekander Ochocki (PSU) def. (12) Thomas Abend (PRIN) ... 15-7
(6) Daniel Bak (PSU) def. (11) Jason Choy (ND) ... 15-6
(9) Thomas Kolasa (HARV) def. (8) Keith Feldman (ND) ... 15-14
(10) John Stogin (Princeton) def. (7) Michael Douvulle (Ohio State) ... 15-11
(13) Colin Mills (Yale) def. (4) William McGough (ND) ... 15-10
(14) Barron Nydam (ND) def. (3) Marcel Frenkel (ND) ... 15-10

2009 Penn State Open – Men's Sabre Final Standings

1. Avery ZUCK (Notre Dame)
2. Valentin STALLER (Harvard)
3. Daniel BAK (Penn State)
4. Aleksander OCHOCKI (Penn State)

Penn State sophomore Aleksander Ochocki (left)

5. Thomas KOLASA (Harvard)
6. John STOGIN (Princeton) 7. Colin MILLS (Yale) 8. Barron NYDAM (Notre Dame)

2638590

Notre Dame sophomore Marcel Frenkel (left)

9. Marcel FRENKEL (Notre Dame)
10. William MCGOUGH (Notre Dame)
11. Michael DOUVILLE (Ohio State)
12. Keith FELDMAN (Notre Dame)

Ohio State junior Michael Douville (left)

13. Jason CHOY (Notre Dame)
14. Thoams ABEND (Princeton)
15. Robert THOMPSON (Penn State)
16. Anthony SCHLEHUBER (Notre Dame)

SRFBZUYETUNGWHS.20081028233011

Princeton senior Thomas Abend (left)

Failed to reach round-of-16 (DE)
17. William ANDERSON (Penn State)
18. Adam FIELDS  (Yale)
19. Kevin ZEICHMAN (North Carolina)
20. Nathaniel BENZIMRA  (Yale)
21. Wolfgang RAFERT (Penn State) 22. David WINER (North Carolina) 23 Benjamin JAEGER (Cornell club team)
23. Craig LIMOLI (Princeton)
25 Steven LISS (Princeton) 25. Garrett BUELL (Penn State)
27. Paul BOSWELL (Princeton)
28. Nicholas DEPINTO (Penn State)
29. William ZHAO  (Yale)
30. Dexter WILDE (Ohio State)
31. Jude Mark KEENAN (Penn State)
32. Sulia MASON (Drew)

North Carolina junior Kevin Zeichman (below), during a bout at the 2009 NCAAs (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360)

33. Jacob HAZEL-CARY (Drew) 34. Ivan BOCHKOV (Harvard)
35. Spencer BAUMAN (PS club)
36. Trent LUNDQUIST (Trent) 37. Seth CRABTREE (UNC)
37. Sean DIPERI (Drew) 39. Greg PFLAUMER (Drew) 40. Mark WADDLE (UNC) 41. David BAHN (PSU club)
42. Robert MACCLAREN (PSU)

Nov 28, 2009 11:34 AM

Penn State Open Recap #3 - Women's Epee

By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

PSU senior Anastasia Ferdman (left) won the Penn State Open women's epee title for the second time

A familiar face finished atop Saturday's women's epee competition at Penn State's annual Max Garret Open, as PSU senior Anastasia Ferdman (Maalot, Israel) won the event for the second time in her career (also '07). Ferdman – who eight months earlier had won the NCAA women's epee title (also on the Penn State campus) – finished in the top-5 at the Penn State Open in all four seasons of her career (4th in '06; 5th in '08).

Israel natives Anastasia Ferdman (right) and Noam Mills (left) – who met in the 2009 NCAA title bout (pictured) – faced off again during last weekend's Penn State Open semifinals (photo by Pete LaFleyr/CF360).

Ferdman faced a fellow senior, Temple two-time All-American Kristin Howell (San Antonio, Texas), in the title matchup and survived a tight bout that ended 15-14. Earlier in the day, Ferdman had emerged from the pool round as the #4 seed heading into the direct-elimination. She then defeated the #13 seed, Northwestern senior Joanna Niklinska (Grander, Ind.) in the round-of-16 (15-6) before topping another Wildcats senior, three-time All-American Christa French (#5 seed; Southlake, Texas) in a 15-9 quarterfinal. Ferdman – likewise a three-time All-American (4th at '07 NCAAs; 6th in '08) – ended up facing three fellow All-Americans in her four DE bouts, with the semifinals producing another thrilling 15-14 bout. That bout came versus the top seed, Harvard sophomore and fellow Israeli Noam Mills (Kfar Saba, Israel), who also had faced Ferdman in the 2009 NCAA final (15-9).

Temple senior Kristin Howell (left) – pictured during the 2009 NCAAs (at Penn State) – finished second at the Penn State Open (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

The tall and rangy Howell – who placed 9th at the '08 NCAAs and 10th in '09 – earned the #10 seed at the Penn State Open and opened the DE with a 15-12 win over 7th-seeded Penn State senior Maria Joao Reis (Sao Paulo, Brazil). She then won by the same score in the quarterfinals, pulling off the upset win over Notre Dame senior and 2008 U.S. Olympian Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas). Howell then advanced to the title bout after posting a 15-9 semifinal win over another underdog, Duke freshman Emily D'Agostino (#14 seed; Portland, Ore.). Howell's previous finishes at the Penn State Open had included 17th-5th-7th (from '06-'08).

Harvard sophomore Noam Mills (left) reached the semifinals at the Penn State Open.

Mills (6th at the '08 PSU Open) closed the day with a win, posting a comfortable 15-8 margin vs. D'Agostino in the third-place bout. Her first two bouts in the DE were closer: 15-10 vs. 16th-seeded Penn State sophomore Alyssa Vongries (3rd-place finisher in '08; Bloomington, Minn.), and a 15-13 quarterfinal vs. Ohio State senior Julia Tikhonova (#9 seed; Jerusalem, Israel).

D'Agostino, Emily

Duke's Emily D'Agostino (left) has an impressive debut at the Penn State Open, placing fourth.

After narrowly earning a spot in the 16-fencer DE (#14 seed), D'Agostino engaged in a defensive battle with fellow rookie Hannah Safford (#3 seed; Princeton; San Francisco, Calif.). The Duke freshman was advanced past that tight bout (9-8), followed by a 15-7 quarterfinal vs. Northwestern freshman Kate Cavanaugh (#6 seed; Milwaukee, Wis.).

Northwestern seniors Christa (right) and Kayley (left) French both reached the direct-elimination phase at the '09 PSU Open (pictured at the '09 NCAAs; photo by Pete LaFleyr/CF360).

The other four DE bouts (round-of-16) were as follows: ND's Hurley had an easy win (15-5) over Northwestern senior Sarah Henning (#15 seed; New Berlin, Wis.) ... OSU's Tikhonova turned in a 15-12 win over another Wildcats senior, 8th-seeded Kayley French (Christa's twins sister and the '07 PSU Open runner-up) ... Cavanaugh posted a 15-6 win over Temple sophomore Jillian Bratton (New York, N.Y.) ... and Christa French defeated a Northwestern teammate, freshman Maddy Amos (#12 seed; Pacific Palisades, Calif.), 15-12.

Notre Dame's Kelley Hurley (left) – a 2008 U.S. Olympian and twot-time NCAA finalist ('08 champion) – dropped a 15-12 quarterfinal bout at the '09 Penn State Open, vs. fellow senior Kristin Howell of Temple.

Hurley was the women's epee runner-up at the 2006 Penn State Open and later competed in foil at the '08 event (18th). She reached the NCAA title bout as a freshman in 2007 (runner-up) and again in '08, when she won the NCAA title. Hurley was at Penn State for the 2009 NCAAs – but only as a spectator, as she was edged out of the NCAA field (max. of two entrants per team, in each weapon) by two ND teammates: her sister Courtney Hurley and Ewa Nelip (both of whom reached the '09 NCAA semifinals). The Hurley sisters and Nelip arguably were the top-three women's epeeists in all of collegiate fencing during the 2008-09 season ... but the Irish won't face such a NCAA-qualifying dilemma in 2010, as Nelip currently is taking a year off from college fencing in order to train and compete with the Polish national-team program (she will have two years of eligibility remaining, as will the current sophomore Courtney Hurley following the 2009-10 season).

OSU senior Julia Tikhonova (left; shown during '09 NCAAs) – holds the rare distinction of having competed at the NCAA Championships during her career in both the foil and epee events (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Most of the women's epee top-16 finishers had competed previously at the Penn State Open (in addition to finishes referenced above): Christa French (5th-8th-21st, from '06-'08) ... Tikhonova (12th in '06 foil/6th in '07 foil) ... Reis (13th in '07/11th in '08) ... Kayley French (8th-2nd-32nd. from '06-'08) ... Bratton (12th in '08) ... Niklinska (30th-31st-10th, from '06-'08) ... and Henning (36th-35th-35th, from '06-'08).

Christa French was a top-10 finisher in each of the three previous NCAAs (6th-7th-10th, from '07-'09) while her sister Kayley was 14th at the '07 NCAAs and 20th in '09. Tikhonova earned foil All-America honors in '07 (5th at NCAAs) and placed 16th in women's epee at the '09 NCAAs.

Princeton sophomore Susannah Scanlan (left)

Princeton sophomore All-American Susannah Scanlan – who placed 5th at the '09 NCAAs – had a poor finish in her pool bouts, placing 27th. Two other fencers who competed at the 2009 NCAAs were among the women's epee participants at the '09 PSU Open: Yale's Rebecca Moss (24th) and Temple's Grace Wu (26th).

A handful of top college women's foilists did not compete at the 2009 Penn State Open: the aforementioned ND duo of Courtney Hurley and Nelip (3rd and 4th at the '09 NCAAs; Nelip also was 3rd in '08), Columbia sophomore Neely Brandfield-Harvey (6th at '09 NCAAs), St. John's three-time All-American Tanya Novakovska (5th-8th-8th at '07-'09 NCAAs), and University of Pennsylvania junior Stephanie Wheller (8th at '09 NCAAs).

3591587

Northwestern three-time All-American Christa French (left)

Several of the fencers mentioned in the text above currently hold top-25 status in the U.S. Fencing Association's national rankings for U.S. senior-level women's epeeists: Kelley Hurley (2nd), Courtney Hurley (3rd), Scanlan (4th), Brandfield-Harvey (7th), Wheeler (15th), D'Agostino (24th) and Christa French (25th).

2009 Penn State Max Garret Open – Women's Foil

headshot_2_KristinHowell-web

Temple's Kristin Howell (left)

FINAL

(4) Anastasia Ferdman (Penn State)
def. (10) Kristin Howell (Temple) ... 15-14

PSU's Anastasia Ferdman (left) and Harvard's Noam Mills (right) – shown during the 2009 NCAA title bout – reprised their rivalry in the semifinal round of the 2009 Penn State Open

SEMIFINALS

(4) Ferdman (PSU) def. (1) Noam Mills (Harvard) ... 15-14

(10) Howell (TEM) def. (14) Emily D'Agostino (Duke) ... 15-9

THIRD-PLACE BOUT

Mills (HARV) def. (14) D'Agostino (Duke) ... 15-8

Northwestern freshman Kate Cavanaugh (left)

QUARTERFINALS
(1) Mills (HARV) def. (9) Julia Tikhonova (Ohio State) ... 15-13
(4) Ferdman (PSU) def. (5) Christa French (Northwestern) ... 15-9
(14) D'Agostino (Duke) def. (6) Kate Cavanaugh (NW) ... 15-7
(10) Howell (TEM) def. (2) Kelley Hurley (Notre Dame) ... 15-12

Ohio State senior Julia Tikhonova (left)

ROUND-OF-16

(1) Mills (HARV) def. (16) Alyssa Vongries (PS) ... 15-10

(9) Tikhonova (OSU) def. (8) Kayley French (NW), 15-12

(5) C. French (NW) def. (12) Maddy Amos (NW) ... 15-11

(4) Ferdman (PS) def. (13) Joanne Niklinska (NW), 15-6

(14) D'Agostino (Duke) def. (3) Hannah Safford (Princeton) ... 9-8

(6) Cavanaugh (NW) def. (11) Jillian Bratton (TEM), 15-6

(10) Howell (TEM) def. (7) Maria Hoao Reis (PS), 15-12

(2) K. Hurley (ND) def. (15) Sarah Henning (NW) ... 15-5

2009 Penn State Open – Women's Epee Final Standings

HEHKEXPIILASITM.20091105181543

Princeton freshman Hannah Safford (left)

1. Anastasia FERDMAN (Penn State) 2. Kristin HOWELL (Temple)
3. Noam MILLS (Harvard) 4. Emily D'AGOSTINO (Duke)

1257337

Penn State senior Maria Joao Reis (left)

5. Kelley HURLEY (Notre Dame)
6. Christa FRENCH (Northwestern)
7. Kate CAVANAUGH (Northwestern)
8. Julia TIKHONOVA (Ohio State)

3591585

Northwestern senior Kayley French (left)

9. Hanah SAFFORD (Princeton)
10. Maria Joao REIS  (Penn State)
11. Kayley FRENCH  (Northwestern)
12. Jillian BRATTON  (Temple)

headshot_2_JillianBratton-web

Temple sophomore Jillian Bratton (left)

13. Maddy AMOS  (Northwestern)
14. Joanne NIKLINSKA  (Northwestern)
15. Sarah HENNING  (Northwestern)
16. Alyssa VONGRIES  (Penn State)

Failed to reach round-of-16 (DE)
17. Phoebe CALDWELL  (PRIN)
18. Nadia ELBEIB  (Harvard)
19. Felicia SUN  (Harvard)
20. Diane ZIELINSKI  (ND)
21. Keri BYERTS  (Penn State)
22. Kara COLLINS  (NW)
23. Robyn SHAFFER (Yale)
24. Rebecca MOSS  (Yale) 25. Kendrick MOONEY  (NW)
26. Grace WU  (Temple)

Temple's Grace Wu (left), shown during action at the 2009 NCAAs (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

27. Susannah SCANLAN (PRIN)
28. Nicole TILLEY  (NW)
29. Lauren CLARK  (Princeton)
30. Chandler CLAY  (Princeton)
31. Jennifer DENIKE  (Duke)
32. Eunice CHAN  (Princeton)

Temple's Kristin Howell (below left) and Yale's Rebecca Moss (right) – who fall at opposite ends of the height spectrum – were among the more noteworthy entrants at the 2009 Penn State Open (pictured during the '09 NCAAs; photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

IMG_0829 copy

33. Alexia CESAR  (Yale)
34. Tasha GARCIA  (Yale)
35. Nicole HORSCROFT  (TEM)
36. Messila LITSCHI (UNC)
37. Sari LEVY  (Yale)
38. Christine FORSYTHE  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
39. Annie KAZARJAN  (FDU)

39. Kyra SWICK  (Penn State)
41. Elyse GURNOWSKI  (Ohio State)
42. Mary Jane PAZYDAEV  (Ohio State)
43. Liana WEBSTER  (Penn State)
44. Alexa FISHMAN  (Harvard)
44. Caitlin VASSOLER  (Penn State)
44. Katherine SERGERTY  (Yale)
47. Alyssa LOMBARDI  (Temple)
48. Tasha DOMASHOVETZ (Ohio State)
49. Annie MORAN  (North Carolina)
50. Brittany BENNETT  (North Carolina)
51. Stephanie MYERS  (Notre Dame)
52. Sylvie SPEWAK  (Duke)
53. Evgeniya TYRTOVA (Fairleigh Dickinson)
54. Vanesas ROSA  (Notre Dame)

Penn State senior three-time All-American Anastaia Ferdman's career highlights include winning the 2009 NCAA women's epee title and twice winning the Penn State Open ('06 and '09 ... photo taken during '09 NCAA title bout, by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

IMG_1841 copy

Nov 23, 2009 5:40 PM

Penn State Open Recap #2 - Women's Foil

By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Saturday's women's foil title bout at the Penn State Max Garret Open featured a rematch of the final in the 2009 NCAAs (also held at PSU) – with Penn State senior Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) again besting Notre Dame junior Hayley Reese (Crestwood, Ky.), 15-6.

1-1

Penn State senior (jr.-eligibility) Doris Willette (left) repeated as the women's foil champion at the Penn State Open.

Willette – a two-time NCAA champion (also '07) and member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team – earned the #4 seed after the pool bouts (56-fencer field) and followed with a close win over Ohio State sophomore Allison Henvick (San Francisco, Calif.), in the direct-elimination (15-12; round-of-16). Her path to the title also included a 15-10 quarterfinal vs. Temple freshman Mikayla Varadi (Beaverton, Ore.) and a dominating win (15-1) over Ohio State junior Oksana Dmytruk (Kiev, Ukraine), who was the 2007 NCAA runner-up and placed 3rd at the '08 NCAAs. Willette then went on to defeat Reese and win the Penn State Open for the second straight year.

IMG_1782 copy Doris Willette and ND's Hayley Reese met at Penn State eight months earlier, in the NCAA title bout (pictured; photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Reese – a two-time All-American who placed 11th at the 2008 NCAAs – had a strong showing in her pool bouts, earning the #2 seed. She then surrendered a total of only 17 touches in the first three DE rounds: 15-5 vs. Duke sophmore Dana Rosen (Mars, Pa.); 15-8 vs. Princeton freshman Brianna Martin (Short Hills, N.J.); and 15-4 vs. Ohio State senior Holly McKibben (Columbos, Ohio) in the semifinals. Reese again improved on her finish at the Penn State Open, after placing 14th at the event in 2007 and 9th in '08.

IMG_1697 copy

Ohio State's Oksana Dmytruk (left) earned the top seed, after a strong showing in her pool bouts.

Despite her 14-point loss to Willette, Dmytruk turned in a strong day that included earning the top seed after her pool bouts. The Ukranian then survived a 9-6 defensive battle vs. Notre Dame freshman Grace Hartman (St. Paul, Minn.) and moved in to the semifinals thanks to a 15-6 win over Yale sophomore Katherine Pitt (New York, N.Y.), who earned All-America honors with her 8th-place finish at the '09 NCAAs (Pitt finished 12th at the 2008 PSU Open).

VUNRWTZZKVYDOBO.20071204204157

Ohio State's Holly McKibben (left)

McKibben – who placed 11th at the 2007 PSU Open (32nd in '06) – was seeded 11th after the pools but survived a 12-11 bout vs. the #6 seed, Northwestern sophomore Camille Provencal (St. Paul, Minn.), in the round-of-16. She then defeated another Wildcats fencer, senior Meredith Baskies (#14 seed; Lynnfield, Mass.) in a 15-10 quarterfinal before losing to Reese in the semifinals.

The four other DE bouts (round-of-16) were as follows: Yale's Pitt defeated 8th-seeded Northwestern freshman Dayana Sarkisova (Grand Rapids, Mich.) in a 15-10 bout ... Temple's Varadi posted a 1-touch win (13-12) over the #5 seed, ND sophomore Darsie Malynn (Grapevine, Texas) ... Northwestern's Baskies had a comfortable 15-7 victory over teammate Devynn Patterson (#3 seed; soph.; Seattle, Wash.), who narrowly missed All-Amerrica honors at the 2009 NCAAs (13th) ...

... Princeton's Martin advanced with a 15-10 win over Harvard sophomore Shelby MacLeod (#10 seed; Sturbridge, Mass.), who placed 17th at the '09 NCAAs.

Princeton's Brianna Martin (left) could emerge as one of college fencing's top young women's foilists.

Three of the Northwestern fencers had competed previously at the Penn State Open, with Baskies placing 22nd in 2007 (30th in '06), Provencal 11th in '08 and Patterson 15th in '08.

Princeton's Andrea Oliva (left), pictured during the 2009 NCAAs (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Temple senior All-American Melissa Parker – who placed 10th at the '09 NCAAs – had a rough showing in her pool bouts, finishing 32nd. Three other fencers who competed at the 2009 NCAAs were among the women's foil participants at the '09 PSU Open: Princeton sophomores Andrea Oliva (21st) and Lucilee Jarry (26th), and OSU senior Lindsay Knauer (23rd) – who finished atop the women's foil standings at the 2007 Penn State Open

A couple top college women's foilists did not compete at the 2009 Penn State Open: Columbia junior and two-time All-American Nicole Ross (5th at '09 NCAAs), NYU junior Sophie Ciaravino (11th at '09 NCAAs), and UC San Diego senior Pilar Alicea (12th at '09 NCAAs).

Northwestern newcomer Dayana Sarkisova (left)

Several of the fencers mentioned above currently hold top-25 status in the U.S. Fencing Association's national rankings for U.S. senior-level women's foilists: Willette (4th), Ross (8th), Reese (16th), Sariskova (18th), Parker (21st) and Malynn (25th).

2009 Penn State Max Garret Open – Women's Foil

1439826

Notre Dame junior Hayley Reese (left)

FINAL

(4) Doris Willette (Penn State) defeated (2) Hayley Reese (Notre Dame) ... 15-6

SEMIFINALS
(4) Willette (PSU) def. (1) Oksana Dmytruk (Ohio State) ... 15-1
(2) Reese (ND) def. (11) Holly McKibben (OSU) ... 15-4

THIRD-PLACE BOUT
(1) Dmytruk (OSU) def. (11) McKibben (OSU) ... 15-3

Ohio State junior Oksana Dmytruk (left)

Northwestern's Meredith Baskies (left)

QUARTERFINALS
(1) Dmytruk (OSU) def. (9) Katherine Pitt (Yale) ... 15-6
(4) Willette (PSU) def. (12) Mikayla Varadi (Temple) ... 15-10
(11) McKibben (OSU) def. (14) Meredith Baskies (NW) ... 15-10
(2) Reese (ND) def. (7) Brianna Martin (Princeton) .. 15-8

ROUND-OF-16
(1) Dmytruk (OSU) def. (16) Grace Hartman (ND) ... 9-6
(9) Pitt (Yale) def. (8) Dayana Sarkisova (Northwestern) ... 15-10
(12) Varadi (TEM) def. (5) Darsie Malynn (ND) ... 13-12
(4) Willette (PSU) def. (13) Allison Henvick (OSU) ... 15-12

3591610

Northwestern's Devynn Patterson (left)

(14) Baskies (NW) def. (3) Devynn Patterson (NW) ... 15-7
(11) McKibben (OSU) def. (6) Camille Provencal (NW) ... 12-11
(7) Martin (PRIN) def. (10) Shelby MacLeod (HARV) ... 15-10
(2) Reese (ND) def. (15) Dana Rosen (Duke) ... 15-5

2009 Penn State Open – Women's Foil Final Standings
1. Doris WILLETTE (Penn State)
2. Hayley REESE (Notre Dame)
3. Oksana DMYTRUK (Ohio State) 4. Holly MCKIBBEN (Ohio State)

Yale's Katherine Pitt (left)

5. Brianna MARTIN (Princeton)
6. Katherine PITT (Yale) 7. Mikayla VARADI (Temple) 8. Meredith BASKIES (Northwestern)

Northwestern's Camille Provencal (left)

9. Devynn PATTERSON (Northwestern) 10. Darsie MALYNN (Notre Dame) 11. Camille PROVENCAL (Northwestern) 12. Dayana SARKISOVA (Northwestern) 13. Shelby MACLEOD (Harvard) 14. Allison HENVICK (Ohio State)
15. Dana ROSEN (Duke)
16. Grace HARTMAN (Notre Dame)

Harvard's Shelby Macleod (left)

Failed to reach round-of-16 (DE)

17. Rozanne ROTHENBERG  (Princeton)
18. Olivia SHEPARD  (Duke)
19. Radmila SARKISOVA  (Notre Dame) 20. Alyssa LOMUSCIO  (Temple) 21. Andrea OLIVA  (Princeton)
22. Rebecca GROHMAN  (Northwestern) 23. Lindsay KNAUER  (Ohio State)
24. Cara TAGGERSELL  (Temple)
25. Irisa CHEN  (Northwestern)

Duke's Dana Rosen (left)

26. Lucille JARRY  (Princeton)
27. Lisa SACHS  (Northwestern)
28. Mary-Lynee CHEN-CONTINO (North Carolina) 29. Emily BRUHL  (Northwestern) 30. Kathy CHOU  (Harvard)
31. Mina ZARGHAM  (Princeton)
32. Melissa PARKER  (Temple)
33. Karen PETSCHE  (Princeton)
34. Casey DIETRICH  (Penn State)
35. Danielle LITTLE  (Penn State)
36. Ginny SISKIDIS (Fairleigh Dickinson)
37. Sarita MIZIN  (Penn State)
38. Jillian LIU  (Yale)
39. Phenix MESSERSMITH  (Notre Dame)
40. Keara MAGERAS  (Duke)

Ohio State's Allison Henvick (left)

41. Katie HEINZEN  (Notre Dame) 42. Lauren BAUCH  (Penn State)
43. Zoe EGELMAN  (Yale)
44. Alexandra ARKIN  (Northwestern) 45. Danielle JONES  (Temple) 46. Kathryn SHAFFER  (Penn State)
47. Katie WILLIAMSON  (North Carolina) 48. Brittany AXWORTHY  (Penn State club)
49. Christina LABARGE  (Notre Dame) 50. Ann GONG  (Princeton)
51. Madeline BOYER  (Penn State)
51. Amanda BOWE  (Penn State club team)
53. Julia SILVA  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
53. Audrey PRADO  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
55. Richelle CARROLL  (Penn State club team)
56. Emily DOUGHERTY (Penn State)

Nov 22, 2009 1:20 PM

Penn State Open Recap #1 - Women's Sabre

By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Notre Dame's Sarah Borrmann (left) improved on her 5th-place finish from the 2008 Penn State Open.

Notre Dame junior Sarah Borrmann (Beaverton, Ore.) – the 2008 NCAA runner-up (13th in '09) – won the women's sabre competition on Saturday (Nov. 21) at Penn State's annual Max Garret Open. Borrmann defeated Harvard sophomore Caroline Vloka (the '09 NCAA runner-up) in a 15-11 title bout that saw the #4 seed beat the #3.

After advancing through the pool rounds in the 45-fencer field, Borrmann was the #4 seed in the direct elimination and posted a 15-9 win over the #13 seed, Ohio State sophomore Margarita Tschomakova (Bonn, Germany), in the round-of-16. Tschomakova earned All-America honors as a freshman, after placing 9th at the 2009 NCAAs. Borrmann went on to register a 15-8 quarterfinal win over 12th-seeded Penn State freshman Jessica Russo (Wayne, Pa.) before knocking off the #8 seed, Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.), in a 15-12 semifinal. Borrmann placed 23rd at the 2007 Penn State Open and finished 5th at the event one year ago ('08).

Harvard's Caoline Vloka (left) finished second at the 2009 Penn State Open, matching her finish eight months earlier at the same location (PSU) during the 2009 NCAAs (pictured; photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

The 3rd-seeded Vloka posted her round-of-16 win over 14th-seeded Northwestern freshman Chloe Grainger (Decatur, Ga.), in a 15-11 bout, followed by a 15-12 quarterfinal vs. 11th-seeded ND junior Eileen Hasssett (Beaverton, Ore.), a two-time All-American who placed 5th at the 2008 NCAAs and 6th in '09 (Hassett placed 3rd at the '07 PSU Open and was the '08 runner-up). Vloka then won in the semifinals by the same score, vs. 19-year-old Illinois native Allison Miller (the #2 seed, who is listed in the results as being an Ohio State fencer but does not show up on OSU's current online roster). Miller went on to defeat Cichomski in the third-place bout (15-12).

Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (left) and classmate Eliza Stone could prove to be two of the top newcomers in collegiate women's sabre fencing.

In the other two quarterfinals, Cichomski upset fellow Princeton freshman and top seed Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.) in a 15-12 bout, while Allison Miller edged 7th-seeded OSU junior Falencia Miller (Decatur, Ga.) – who earned 2009 All-America honors (10th at NCAAs) – in another 15-12 final (Miller placed 4th at the '07 PSU Open). Cichomski earlier had bested University of Pennsylvania junior Danielle Kamis (#9 seed; Gladwyne, Pa.) in the round-of-16, by a 15-12 score. Kamis (who was 9th at the '07 PSU Open) earned All-America honors at the 2008 NCAAS (10th place) before finishing 14th at the '09 NCAAs, which were held at Penn State. Allison Miller's first DE bout produced a 15-10 win over the #15 seed, Penn State sophomore Olivia Benedek (State College, Pa.; placed 9th at '08 PSU Open).

Princeton first-year fencer Eliza Stone (left) emerged from the Penn State Open pool rounds as the top seed in the direct-elimination phase.

The other four round-of-16 bouts went as follows: Stone defeated Harvard freshman Elena Helgiu (#16 seed; Wayne, N.J.) in a 15-12 bout ... Falencia Miller nipped ND freshman Lian Osier (10th seed; Battle Ground, Wash.), 15-14 ... PSU's Russo topped 5th-seeded Yale freshman Madeline Oliver (Bethesda, Md.), in a 15-9 bout ... and ND's Hassett survived a 15-14 bout vs. Fairleigh Dickinson freshman Sophia Bischof (Bonn, Germany; #6 seed).

Several of the top college women's sabreists were not at the 2009 Penn State Open, including three of the top-4 finishers at the 2009 NCAAs: Duke sophomore Becca Ward ('08 Olympic medalist; '09 NCAA champ), St. John's senior Dagmara Wozniak and Columbia senior Daria Schneider . Others of note who did not compete at the '09 PSU Open include Penn State sophomore Monica Aksamit (5th at '09 NCAAs), Columbia junior Jackie Jacobson (7th at '09 NCAAs) and Penn sophomore Dominika Franciszkowicz (12th at '09 NCAAs).

Ohio State junior Falencia Miller (pictured, in action at the '09 NCAAs) and OSU newcomer Allison Miller (they are not sisters) both hold USFA top-20 national rankings (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

Many of the fencers mentioned above currently hold top-20 status in the U.S. Fencing Association's national rankings for U.S. senior-level women's sabreists: Wozniak (2nd), Aksamit (3rd), Schneider (4th), Vloka (8th), Osier (11th), Ward (12th), Stone (15th), Faclencia Miller (17th), Hassett (19th) and Allison Miller (20th). ... Others in the top-20 include: former ND fencer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis (1st; '06 NCAA champ); Duke alum Ibithaj Muhammad (5th); former Columbia fencer and '05 NCAA champ Emily Jacobson (6th); Rutgers alum and '03 NCAA champ Alexis Jemal (7th); former Yale fencer and two-time NCAA champ Sada Jacosbon (9th); former Columbia fencer and four-time All-American Emma Baratta (10th); 17-year-old Diamond Wheeler (13th); Columbia sophomore Samantha Roberts (14th); 17-year-old Nicole Glon (16th); and New Jersey high-school senior Faizah Muhammad (18th).

2009 Penn State Max Garret Open – Women's Sabre

Notre Dame junior Sarah Borrmann (left) – the 2008 NCAA champion – was seeded 4th after the pool bouts at the '09 Penn State Open and went on to win the title, following direct-elimination wins over Ohio State's Margatira Tschmoakova (15-9), Penn State's Jessica Russo (15-8), Princeton's Joanna Cichomski (15-12) and Harvard's Caroline Vloka (15-11).

FINAL

(4) Sarah Borrmann (Notre Dame) def. (3) Caroline Vloka (Harvard) ... 15-11

SEMIFINALS
(4) Borrmann (ND) def. (8) Joanna Cichomski (Princeton) ... 15-12
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (2) Allison Miller (Ohio St.) ... 15-12

THIRD-PLACE BOUT
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (8) Cichomski (PRIN) ... 15-12

Notre Dame junior Eileen Hassett (left) now has placed 3rd-2nd-7th in three appearances at the Penn State Open.

QUARTERFINALS
(1) (8) Cichomski (PRIN) def. Eliza Stone (PRIN) ... 15-14
(4) Borrmann (ND) def. Jessica Russo (Penn St.) ... 15-8
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (11) Eileen Hassett (ND) ... 15-12
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (7) Falencia Miller (OSU) ... 15-12

ROUND-of-16 (start of direct-elimination)
(1) Stone (PRIN) def. (16) Elena Helgiu (HARV) ... 15-12
(8) Cichomski (PRIN) def. (9) Danielle Kamis (Univ. of Pennsylvania) ...15-12
(12) Russo (PSU) def. (5) Madeline Oliver (Yale) ... 15-9
(4) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (13) Margatira Tschomakova (OSU)... 15-9

Penn junior Danielle Kamis (left; in action at the '09 NCAAs) – a 20008 All-American and two-time NCAA participant – was stopped in her first DE bout at the '09 Penn State Open, losing 15-12 to Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

(round-of-16 results; cont.)
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (14) Chloe Grainger (Northwestern) ... 15-11
(11) Hassett (ND) def. (6) Sophia Bischof (Fairleigh Dickinson) ... 15-14
(7) F. Miller (OSU) def. (10) Lian Osier (ND) ... 15-14
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (15) Olivia Benedek (PSU) ... 15-10

2009 Penn State Open – Women's Sabre Final Standings

Harvard's Caroline Vloka (left)

1. Sarah BORRMANN (Notre Dame)
2. Carolina VLOKA (Harvard)
3. Allison MILLER (Ohio State)
4. Joanne CICHOMSKI (Princeton)

5. Eliza STONE  (Princeton)
6. Falencia MILLER  (Ohio State)
7. Eileen HASSETT  (Notre Dame)
8. Jessica RUSSO (Penn State)

Ohio State sophomore Margarita Tschomakova (left; in action at the '09 NCAAs) was seeded 13th before losing in the DE to the eventual champion, Sarah Borrmann of Notre Dame (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

9. Madeline OLIVER (Yale)

10. Sophia BISCHOF (Fairleigh Dickinson)

11. Danielle KAMIS (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

12. Lian OSIER (Notre Dame)

13. Margarita TSCHOMAKOVA (Ohio State)

14. Chloe GRAINGER (Northwestern)

15. Olivia BENEDEK (Penn State)

16. Elena HELGIU (Harvard)

Failed to reach round-of-16 (DE)
17. Jennifer SAWICKI (North Carolina)
18. Kamali THOMPSON (Temple)
19. Whitney WHITE  (Northwestern)
20. Alicia GURRIERI  (Northwestern)
20. Marta STEPIEN  (Notre Dame)
22. Kathryn PALAZZOTO  (Notre Dame)
23. Ashley DONALD (Duke)
24. Lee-Grace VALIGORSKY  (Penn State)
25. Christie GRIFFITH  (Temple)

26. Emily CHENG  (Ohio State)
27. Biance CABRERA  (Princeton)
28. Hayley LEVITT  (Harvard)
29. Audrey BAROSSO  (Temple)
30. Allison KELLER  (Northwestern)
31. Jennifer IVERS  (Yale)
32. Katherine ARDEN  (Yale)
33. Samantha PASCARELLI  (Temple)
34. Lori GRESZCZAK  (Penn State)
35. Sara LEUNG  (North Carolina)
36. Janelle KRANNICH  (Penn State)
37. Andrea FEUER  (Yale)
38. Genele STREITZ  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
39. Arwen KANDT  (Penn State club team)
40. Lily FU  (North Carolina)
40. Deanna LOFFREDO  (Penn State)
42. Heather MORRILL  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
42. Danielle GUILFOYLE  (Notre Dame)
44. Jessica CAVUOTI  (Fairleigh Dickinson)
45. Stephanie HERBERT  (Penn State)

Notre Dame junior Eileen Hassett (pictured below), in action at the 2009 NCAAs (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).

IMG_1419 copy

Nov 22, 2009 7:59 AM

CF360: Your one-stop resource for college fencing information — past, present and future.

Site Navigation[Skip]

Sidebar[Skip]

CF360 Blog Archive

CF360 Blog Archive November 2009

Sunday's Harvard Duals (Nov. 29) to Feature Penn State & Princeton (7-team field)

Penn State Open Recap #4 - Men's Sabre

Penn State Open Recap #3 - Women's Epee

Penn State Open Recap #2 - Women's Foil

Penn State Open Recap #1 - Women's Sabre