Princeton University
NCAA Championships
Players Mentioned
Fencer Leahy Finishes National Runner-Up, McGarry Earns All-America Honors
March 17, 2006 | Women's Fencing
March 17, 2006
HOUSTON, Texas - Princeton senior fencer Jacqueline Leahy completed an outstanding career on Friday at the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas by winning a silver medal in the foil competition and her fourth All-America honor in as many years. Junior Erin McGarry also performed very well, claiming All-America plaudits for the second straight year.
Leahy was third after the first four of seven rounds were completed on day one Thursday. She completed the round-robin with 18 victories over 23 of the nation's best collegiate fencers. The top-four finish in the round robin qualified her for a single-elimination tournament which would decide the national champion. After dispatching Harvard's Emily Cross 15-5 in the semifinal, she fell to Erszebet Garay of St. John's in the national final, 14-12. The second-place finish is the highest of her career and continued a steady upward trend on the national stage over her four years. She finished seventh as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and third last year.
McGarry was 10th in the epee competition after the first day and rose to a fifth-place finish, improving one spot from her finish last year and nine places from her 14th-place finish as a freshman. She finished the weekend 15-8 against the top epee fencers in the college ranks and was one spot from qualifying from the single-elimination draw that would determine the national title.
Junior Sara Jew-Lim competed at the NCAA national meet for the second time in her career, finishing 23rd in the epee.
The strong performances gave Princeton a 10th-place team finish of 22 schools when the Tigers had competitors in only two of the three disciplines. Penn State, which had six competitors at the national meet, won the team title.