Seven fencers head to NCAAs

Seven of the 19 fencers who competed in the NCAA regionals over spring break headed to Brandeis yesterday to compete in the NCAAs. The fencers who made the cut are senior sabre Jeffrey Allen, sophomore epee Charles Hamman, sophomore foil Yaron Roth, sophomore foil Michael Golia, freshman epee Scott Eriksen, senior foil Agnieszka Gromulska, junior foil Margo Katz and sophomore epee Kari Coley. "I'm glad to get as many as we did," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "But a coach is never satisfied." The day-long regional tournament, held March 6 at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., hosted top-notch schools such as Princeton and Penn State, the defending NCAA champions. "Penn State has heavy recruiting. They have fencers from Germany and Mexico," Gromulska said. "They only have one American on their [women's] team." To start the competition, fencers were divided into pools of seven or eight per weapon -- foil, epee, and sabre. The fencers had bouts with everyone in their pool and after three rounds of pools the top 12 fencers advanced to the next round. After another round robin, the top seven or eight fencers in each weapon qualified for the NCAAs. "I didn't do too well in finals," Gromulska said. "But me and Margo [Katz] did well enough to qualify for the NCAAs and that's what counts." Making the top eight in one's weapon is not the only way to qualify for the NCAAs. Katz is competing as a national at large, meaning the NCAA committee selected her based on her performance this season. Both Katz and Gromulska, who placed 10th, are veterans of the NCAA foil competition. Gromulska placed 17th in last year's NCAAs while Katz came in 22nd. Coley recorded the highest Quakers finish, coming in second for the second year in a row. Coley placed ninth in the NCAAs last year. Hamman placed third in the epee after a fifth-place finish at last year's regionals. He went on to finish 17th in last year's NCAAs. "Once I made the finals I was confident with how I was fencing," Hamman said. "I knew I'd finish well." Roth had already swept seven opponents during the round robin when he dislocated his shoulder. The injury came during an over-the-back flick at his opponent, the last touch of his eighth victory. "He was dominating," Micahnik said. "No one was close to beating him. He was almost untouched." Roth's performance was so strong that although his injury prevented him from fencing three of the top 12 foilers, he finished in third place. Golia and Allen will represent the team in the sabre event. Golia came in second place at the NCAAs last year. Roth claimed second place in the foil at NCAAs last year. His injury will keep him from the NCAAs this year, leaving Penn with no male foilers in the competition. "We have a gaping hole in our lineup," Micahnik said. "Last year we had two first team All-Americans [in Roth and Cliff Bayer] in foil, but we'll celebrate what we can this year." And celebrate they will with their first Ivy title since 1983. After facing tough competition at regionals, the Quakers are confident heading to the NCAAs. "If I'm fencing well, I don't think there's anyone I should lose to," Hamman said.