Columbus, Ohio — After the first day of competition at the NCAA Fencing Championships, the Penn State fencers are in second. The men jump-started the competition Thursday with phenomenal performances from all five Nittany Lions participating.
Captain Aleksander Ochocki finished first in the men’s saber with 13 victories for the day. The junior is on a quest to reclaim the National Title he won in 2009. Ochocki dropped only one bout and managed to get 67 touches on his opponents with only 33 against him.
Adrian Bak rounded out the top ten for the men’s saber with his tenth place finish for the day. The freshman had seven victories and 58 touches scored.
Junior Miles Chamley-Watson and Sophomore David Willette were an unstoppable force taking the first and second spots, respectively, in the men’s foil. Chamley-Watson walked away with a nearly flawless day losing only one bout. He had 68 touches scored and 36 touches scored against him. Willette had 12 victories, 64 touches scored and 29 touches received against him.
Representing the men’s epee was Anthony Green who had an outstanding day in his first NCAA Championship competition. The freshman finished in sixth with eight victories. Green got in 57 touches and received 36 against him.
At the conclusion of the day the Nittany Lions are behind Notre Dame by 12 points. The Fighting Irish lead the competition with 61 points while the Nittany Lions have accumulated 53. The Red Storm, of St. John’s University, rounds out the top three with 40 points.
Head Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov says the team is "doing as well as expected" and his only concern is that Notre Dame will "pull away with a bigger lead because of the advantage of having nine extra bouts". Notre Dame Qualified 12 fencers and has a one competitor over Penn State who only qualified 11.
The competition resumes Friday with the semi-finals beginning around 2 p.m. For live updates and live video streaming of the competition, follow along Live Results of the 2011 NCAA Fencing Championships.
