Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
NCAA Championship
Yergler Leads Fencers Midway Through Men's NCAA Competition
March 24, 2011 | Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sophomore epeeist Jonathan Yergler won 11 of his 14 bouts on the first day of competition Thursday at the NCAA championships at Ohio State, leaving just nine individual bouts Friday between him and a spot in the four-man direct elimination competition that will decide the individual national champion.
If Yergler can hold on to one of the top four spots through the conclusion of the round robin competition Friday, he will compete in a pair of 15-touch bouts Friday afternoon to determine the individual winner. Finishing first through fourth in the round robin competition only determines seeding within the direct elimination portion, as all four fencers are two wins away at that point from a national title.
Presently, Yergler is the second seed behind Marat Israelian of St. John's, who also won 11 bouts but is ahead on the first tiebreaker, touches scored minus touches received, by just one, +24 to +23.
As a team, the Tigers are in sixth place with 38 victories from their six fencers. One quarter of the way through the entire men's/women's competition, Notre Dame leads with 61 victories, ahead of Penn State's 53. The next five teams, St. John's, Harvard, Ohio State, Princeton and Penn, are all within three bout wins of each other, setting up a tight pack as the championships continue into a second day. St. John's has 40 victories, with Harvard and Ohio State at 39 apiece, Princeton at 38 and Penn at 37.
Aside from Yergler, foilist Alexander Mills had the strongest first day, winning eight bouts to stand in ninth place. Epeeists John Stogin and Philip Dershwitz won six and four bouts to stand in 15th and 19th place, respectively, while foilist Robert Malcolm won four bouts to stand 21st and epeeist Mike Elfassy won five bouts to stand 20th. Each weapon has 24 fencers, making 23 as the maximum number of victories any one fencer can have. No fencer from any school emerged undefeated from the first day of competition.
Competition will get underway at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow with the remainder of the men's round robin. The women's competition, which will make up half of the total that determines the overall team champion, will take place Saturday and Sunday. Princeton has qualified the maximum two fencers for each of the men's and women's epee, foil and saber competitions.