{mosimage}The Ohio State Buckeyes claimed their first-ever NCAA Fencing National Championships in the final day of the competition March 28. Ohio State outscored second-place Penn State by 34 points en route to a 194-160 victory, at the Gosman Athletic Center on the campus of Brandeis University.
Ohio State posted the second-highest team total in the five years that the NCAA has contested events in six weapons. The Buckeyes won 97 bouts in both the men’s and women’s competition to reach their total of 194 points. Penn State surpassed Notre Dame on the final day of competition to keep its streak of finishing in the top two of every NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championship that has been held since 1990.
Notre Dame finished in third place with 153 points, while St. John’s (N.Y.) moved into the top four with 149 points. Columbia placed fifth with 146 points. St. John’s was the top scorer in the men’s competition, totaling 109 bout victories.
Individually, Ohio State sophomore Adam Crompton successfully defended his 2003 sabre crown. Crompton narrowly defeated Columbia fencer Sergey Isayenko, 15-14, in the title bout, avenging one of his two losses in the round robin. Rutgers freshman Benjamin Igoe defeated Penn State’s Marten Zagunis, 15-6, to claim third place in the sabre.
Buckeye freshman Boaz Ellis went 24-1 on the day to claim his first NCAA title in the foil. Ellis defeated Yale sophomore Cory Werk, 15-8, in the title bout. Werk, seeded fourth in the semis, reached the final match by handing top-seeded St. John’s sophomore Nitai Kfir one of his two losses for the tournament, 15-12. Kfir defeated Columbia’s Jeremy Sinkin, 15-12, for third place.
The finals of the men’s epee was an all-St. John’s affair as junior Arpad Horvath defeated rookie teammate Benjamin Bratton, 15-7, in the finals. It was the second crown for Horvath, who won the 2002 title. Both Red Storm fencers survived narrow semifinal matches. Bratton defeated Notre Dame junior Michal Sobieraj, 15-13, while Horvath downed Ohio State junior Denis Tolkachev, 11-10, in overtime. Sobieraj claimed third place with a 15-8 victory.
Results Tables:
| Final Team Standings and Point Totals by Weapon: | |||||||||
| Place | School | Total | MS | MF | ME | WS | WF | WE | |
| 1. | Ohio State University | 194 | 35 | 34 | 28 | 33 | 37 | 27 | |
| 2. | Pennsylvania State University | 160 | 35 | 22 | 19 | 32 | 29 | 23 | |
| 3. | Notre Dame | 153 | 23 | 16 | 18 | 26 | 40 | 30 | |
| 4. | St. John’s University | 149 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 20 | 20 | ||
| 5. | Columbia/Barnard | 146 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 18 | 13 | |
| 6. | Pennsylvania, University of | 104 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 15 | 21 | ||
| 7. | Princeton University | 79 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 11 | ||
| 8. | Harvard University | 73 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 19 | 12 | |
| 9. | Wayne State University | 62 | 6 | 27 | 29 | ||||
| 10. | Stanford University | 60 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 17 | |||
| 11. | Northwestern University | 50 | 16 | 27 | 7 | ||||
| 12. | Duke University | 48 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 15 | |||
| 13. | T | Rutgers University | 44 | 18 | 13 | 13 | |||
| 13. | T | Yale University | 44 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 15. | Cal State, Fullerton | 35 | 18 | 10 | 7 | ||||
| 16. | U.S. Air Force Academy | 34 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 6 | |||
| 17. | Brandeis University | 28 | 4 | 14 | 10 | ||||
| 18. | Temple University | 25 | 9 | 7 | 9 | ||||
| 19. | Cornell University | 23 | 8 | 15 | |||||
| 20. | New York University | 19 | 14 | 5 | |||||
| 21. | Brown University | 17 | 2 | 15 | |||||
| 22. | Haverford College | 14 | 9 | 5 | |||||
| 23. | T | Drew University | 12 | 12 | |||||
| 23. | T | M.I.T. | 12 | 4 | 8 | ||||
| 25. | T | Tufts University | 11 | 11 | |||||
| 25. | T | UNC, Chapel Hill | 11 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| 27. | Vassar College | 8 | 8 | ||||||
| 28. | Johns Hopkins University | 7 | 7 | ||||||
| 29. | T | Cal Tech | 6 | 6 | |||||
| 29. | T | NJ Institute of Technology | 6 | 6 | |||||
| 29. | T | U.C. San Diego | 6 | 6 | |||||
| 32. | T | Hunter College | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 32. | T | Sacred Heart University | 1 | 1 | |||||
V = Victories
PCT = Percent of Bouts Won
TS = Touches Scored
TR = Touches Received
Ind = Indicators (TS minus TR)
Individual Results on the following pages.
{mospagebreak}
| MEN’S SABER – Final Standings | ||||||||
| Place | Name | School | V | Pct. | TS | TR | Ind. | |
| 1. | Adam Crompton | Ohio State | 21 | 0.913 | 111 | 48 | +63 | |
| 2. | Sergey Isayenko | St. John’s | 20 | 0.870 | 111 | 62 | +49 | |
| 3. | Benjamin Igoe | Rutgers | 18 | 0.783 | 101 | 63 | +38 | |
| 4. | Marten Zagunis | Penn State | 18 | 0.783 | 98 | 66 | +32 | |
| 5. | Ian Farr | Penn State | 17 | 0.739 | 96 | 70 | +26 | |
| 6. | Alexander Krul | Columbia | 16 | 0.696 | 103 | 69 | +34 | |
| 7. | Darrin Whitmer | St. John’s | 16 | 0.696 | 90 | 77 | +13 | |
| 8. | Andrew Magee | N.Y.U. | 14 | 0.609 | 93 | 77 | +16 | |
| 9. | Jason Paul | Ohio State | 14 | 0.609 | 86 | 78 | +8 | |
| 10. | Patrick Ghattas | Notre Dame | 13 | 0.565 | 95 | 74 | +21 | |
| 11. | Paul Reyfman | Columbia | 13 | 0.565 | 99 | 86 | +13 | |
| 12. | David Jakus | Harvard | 12 | 0.522 | 84 | 78 | +6 | |
| 13. | Curtis Andrus | Stanford | 12 | 0.522 | 86 | 81 | +5 | |
| 14. | Matthew Stearns | Notre Dame | 10 | 0.435 | 78 | 89 | -11 | |
| 15. | Christian Flanders | Haverford | 9 | 0.391 | 80 | 89 | -9 | |
| 16. | Robert Owens | Stanford | 9 | 0.391 | 74 | 88 | -14 | |
| 17. | Mark Kindrachuk | Pennsylvania | 9 | 0.391 | 72 | 98 | -26 | |
| 18. | Justin Bernstein | Vassar College | 8 | 0.348 | 70 | 94 | -24 | |
| 19. | Bret Martin | U.C. San Diego | 6 | 0.261 | 74 | 99 | -25 | |
| 20. | Phil Dolata | N.J.I.T. | 6 | 0.261 | 67 | 101 | -34 | |
| 21. | Bobby Smith | Wayne State | 6 | 0.261 | 63 | 100 | -37 | |
| 22. | Wesley Newkirk | North Carolina | 5 | 0.217 | 64 | 102 | -38 | |
| 23. | Sam Bartron | Air Force | 3 | 0.130 | 66 | 111 | -45 | |
| 24. | Randy Bresil | Hunter College | 1 | 0.043 | 53 | 114 | -61 | |
Men’s Saber Medal Bouts
Semifinals
(1) Adam Crompton def. (4) Marten Zagunis, 15-10
(2) Sergey Isayenko def. (3) Benjamin Igoe, 15-12
Bronze Medal Bout
(3) Benjamin Igoe def. (4) Marten Zagunis, 15-6
Gold Medal Bout
(1) Adam Crompton def. (2) Sergey Isayenko, 15-14
| MEN’S FOIL – Final Standings | ||||||||
| Place | Name | School | V | Pct. | TS | TR | Ind. | |
| 1. | Boaz Ellis | Ohio State | 22 | 0.957 | 113 | 34 | +79 | |
| 2. | Cory Werk | Yale | 16 | 0.696 | 98 | 72 | +26 | |
| 3. | Nitai Kfir | St. John’s | 22 | 0.957 | 114 | 32 | +82 | |
| 4. | Jeremy Sinkin | Columbia | 18 | 0.783 | 99 | 69 | +30 | |
| 5. | Enoch Woodhouse | Harvard | 16 | 0.696 | 94 | 71 | +23 | |
| 6. | Henry Kennard | St. John’s | 15 | 0.652 | 96 | 73 | +23 | |
| 7. | Ian Schlaepfer | Penn State | 14 | 0.609 | 95 | 80 | +15 | |
| 8. | Andy Radu | Pennsylvania | 14 | 0.609 | 89 | 78 | +11 | |
| 9. | Michael Galligan | Pennsylvania | 13 | 0.565 | 88 | 74 | +14 | |
| 10. | Jesse Schibilia | Rutgers | 13 | 0.565 | 92 | 80 | +12 | |
| 11. | Nathan Weir | Ohio State | 12 | 0.522 | 85 | 86 | -1 | |
| 12. | Calvin Chen | Columbia | 12 | 0.522 | 83 | 90 | -7 | |
| 13. | Eric Stodola | Princeton | 10 | 0.435 | 87 | 86 | +1 | |
| 14. | Florian Reichling | Stanford | 10 | 0.435 | 84 | 87 | -3 | |
| 15. | Benjamin Hendricks | Duke | 10 | 0.435 | 85 | 93 | -8 | |
| 16. | Roland Breden | Cal St. Fullerton | 10 | 0.435 | 77 | 90 | -13 | |
| 17. | Forest Walton | Notre Dame | 9 | 0.391 | 83 | 95 | -12 | |
| 18. | Jake Clark | Penn State | 8 | 0.348 | 70 | 95 | -25 | |
| 19. | Brian Fraser | Cal St. Fullerton | 8 | 0.348 | 61 | 93 | -32 | |
| 20. | Frank Bontempo | Notre Dame | 7 | 0.304 | 70 | 97 | -27 | |
| 21. | Alejandro Bras | Princeton | 6 | 0.261 | 75 | 99 | -24 | |
| 22. | Willy Chang | N.Y.U. | 5 | 0.217 | 54 | 109 | -55 | |
| 23. | Benji Rostoker | Brandeis | 4 | 0.174 | 54 | 103 | -49 | |
| 24. | Jeremy Zeitlin | Brown | 2 | 0.087 | 50 | 110 | -60 | |
Men’s Foil Medal Bouts
Semifinals
(4) Cory Werk def. (1) Nitai Kfir, 15-12
(2) Boaz Ellis def. (3) Jeremy Sinkin, 15-11
Bronze Medal Bout
(1) Nitai Kfir def. (3) Jeremy Sinkin, 15-12
Gold Medal Bout
(2) Boaz Ellis def. (4) Cory Werk, 15-8
MEN’S EPEE – Final Standings | ||||||||
Place | Name | School | V | Pct. | TS | TR | Ind. | |
| 1. | Árpád Horváth | St. John’s | 18 | 0.783 | 103 | 60 | +43 | |
| 2. | Benjamin Bratton | St. John’s | 18 | 0.783 | 105 | 72 | +33 | |
| 3. | Michal Sobieraj | Notre Dame | 18 | 0.783 | 98 | 67 | +31 | |
| 4. | Denis Tolkachev | Ohio State | 16 | 0.696 | 99 | 61 | +38 | |
| 5. | Adam Wiercioch | Penn State | 16 | 0.696 | 90 | 60 | +30 | |
| 6. | William Verigan | Columbia | 16 | 0.696 | 97 | 75 | +22 | |
| 7. | Marek Petraszek | Wayne State | 15 | 0.652 | 86 | 79 | +7 | |
| 8. | Jason Henderson | Rutgers | 13 | 0.565 | 98 | 84 | +14 | |
| 9. | Dana Sanford | Drew | 12 | 0.522 | 92 | 83 | +9 | |
| 10. | William Jones | Ohio State | 12 | 0.522 | 88 | 79 | +9 | |
| 11. | Jason Stockdale | Air Force | 12 | 0.522 | 92 | 87 | +5 | |
| 12. | Wojciech Dudek | Wayne State | 12 | 0.522 | 83 | 80 | +3 | |
| 13. | Martin Lee | Stanford | 12 | 0.522 | 85 | 83 | +2 | |
| 14. | Michael Yablon | Columbia | 11 | 0.478 | 82 | 91 | -9 | |
| 15. | Kai Keller | Brandeis | 10 | 0.435 | 87 | 86 | +1 | |
| 16. | Timothy French | Air Force | 10 | 0.435 | 82 | 88 | -6 | |
| 17. | Julian Rose | Harvard | 10 | 0.435 | 82 | 95 | -13 | |
| 18. | Nathan Bragg | Duke | 10 | 0.435 | 75 | 90 | -15 | |
| 19. | Ben Solomon | Princeton | 9 | 0.391 | 87 | 94 | -7 | |
| 20. | Matthew Bouloubasis | Johns Hopkins | 7 | 0.304 | 77 | 99 | -22 | |
| 21. | Fenil Ghodadra | Princeton | 6 | 0.261 | 60 | 97 | -37 | |
| 22. | James Rohrbach | Yale | 6 | 0.261 | 63 | 106 | -43 | |
| 23. | Andrew Sofer | Brandeis | 4 | 0.174 | 69 | 109 | -40 | |
| 24. | Alex Bruske | Penn State | 3 | 0.130 | 52 | 107 | -55 | |
Men’s Epee Medal Bouts
Semifinals
(1) Arpad Horvath def. (4) Denis Tolkachev, 11-10
(2) Benjamin Bratton def. (3) Michal Sobieraj, 15-13
Bronze Medal Bout
(3) Michal Sobieraj def. (4) Denis Tolkachev, 15-8
Gold Medal Bout
(1) Arpad Horvath def. (2) Benjamin Bratton, 15-7