Fencing qualifies three sophomores for NCAA championships
Amy Ehrhart
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Sports
Randy Alevi '10, Adam Pantel '10 and Adam Yarnell '10 are headed to Ohio State on Tuesday for the NCAA Fencing Championships after securing three bids for Brown.
After the Northeast Regionals at Vassar last Sunday, Alevi and Pantel earned outright bids in the women's sabre and men's foil, respectively, while Yarnell earned an at-large bid in men's epee yesterday when the field of 144 fencers was announced by the NCAA Fencing Committee. Brown fencers have shown great endurance in previous championship tournaments. This year's spans four days, two longer than most tournaments. Brown has competed in this year. Alevi will be looking to improve on her 12th place finish from last year, in which she earned an All-American Honorable Mention nod while Dan Mahoney '07 took 21st. In 2006, All-American Ruth Schneider '06 took 24th.
Pantel finished fifth at Regionals, three spots higher than his given seed for the tournament, and he also earned Brown's highest rating of 86.46 for the competition. He finished the season, 65-20. Alevi was seeded and finished ninth, but got placed in the championship-qualifying eighth-spot when Columbia had to give up one of its spots because it had too many fencers qualified in one event. Alevi finished the season 82-30 with First Team All-Northeast Fencing Conference and Second Team All-Ivy honors after winning the IFA Championship Feb. 24.
Yarnell placed tenth after being given the 15th seed, boosting his chances for an at-large bid that was determined after Regionals. His team-best 183-95 season record earned him a First Team All-NFC award.
This tournament is not the average championship bracket, with 64 teams qualifying. Only the top eight (and sometimes nine) fencers in each event qualify for the championships along with two at-large bids, and a school cannot send more than two fencers in the same event.
The tournament uses a round-robin set-up of five-touch bouts, with the top four fencers in each event advancing to direct elimination 15-touch bouts to determine the top four spots. Last year Brown placed 19th after qualifying just two fencers.
Deborah Gorth '09 narrowly missed qualifying, finishing tenth right behind Alevi in the women's sabre. Gorth, Christine Livoti '08 and Robyn Thvedt '09 received at-large recommendations along with Yarnell, but were not awarded bids. Livoti and Thvedt finished 11th and 12th in women's epee.
After the Northeast Regionals at Vassar last Sunday, Alevi and Pantel earned outright bids in the women's sabre and men's foil, respectively, while Yarnell earned an at-large bid in men's epee yesterday when the field of 144 fencers was announced by the NCAA Fencing Committee. Brown fencers have shown great endurance in previous championship tournaments. This year's spans four days, two longer than most tournaments. Brown has competed in this year. Alevi will be looking to improve on her 12th place finish from last year, in which she earned an All-American Honorable Mention nod while Dan Mahoney '07 took 21st. In 2006, All-American Ruth Schneider '06 took 24th.
Pantel finished fifth at Regionals, three spots higher than his given seed for the tournament, and he also earned Brown's highest rating of 86.46 for the competition. He finished the season, 65-20. Alevi was seeded and finished ninth, but got placed in the championship-qualifying eighth-spot when Columbia had to give up one of its spots because it had too many fencers qualified in one event. Alevi finished the season 82-30 with First Team All-Northeast Fencing Conference and Second Team All-Ivy honors after winning the IFA Championship Feb. 24.
Yarnell placed tenth after being given the 15th seed, boosting his chances for an at-large bid that was determined after Regionals. His team-best 183-95 season record earned him a First Team All-NFC award.
This tournament is not the average championship bracket, with 64 teams qualifying. Only the top eight (and sometimes nine) fencers in each event qualify for the championships along with two at-large bids, and a school cannot send more than two fencers in the same event.
The tournament uses a round-robin set-up of five-touch bouts, with the top four fencers in each event advancing to direct elimination 15-touch bouts to determine the top four spots. Last year Brown placed 19th after qualifying just two fencers.
Deborah Gorth '09 narrowly missed qualifying, finishing tenth right behind Alevi in the women's sabre. Gorth, Christine Livoti '08 and Robyn Thvedt '09 received at-large recommendations along with Yarnell, but were not awarded bids. Livoti and Thvedt finished 11th and 12th in women's epee.