Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
NCAA Championship
Players Mentioned
Stone, Levin Win Silver as Fencers Finish Fourth at NCAAs
March 27, 2011 | Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing
Stone won 20 of her 23 round-robin bouts to earn the top seed in the direct elimination portion of the competition and got by Notre Dame's Eileen Hassett 15-14 in the semifinal. Duke's Rebecca Ward, who won the 2009 title, knocked off defending saber champion Caroline Vloka of Harvard 15-11 and regained the crown with a 15-12 win over Stone in the final.
With her eighth-place finish a year ago as a freshman, Stone had already turned in the best finish for a Princeton fencer since women's saber began as an NCAA championship event in 2000.
Levin earned the No. 4 seed in the direct elimination after winning 16 round-robin bouts, edging out fellow 16-bout winner Irina Koroleva of St. John's on a touch-differential tiebreak to qualify for the medal round. Levin then upset top seed Doris Willette of Penn State 15-12 in the semifinal before falling 15-7 to second seed Alexandra Kiefer of Harvard in the final.
Levin's finish is the highest for a Princeton foilist since Jacqueline Leahy '06 took the silver medal as a senior five years ago.
Princeton's finish ties its best since the men's/women's combined scoring format came into place in 1990, matching fourth-place finishes in 1994, 1996 and 1999. Princeton's 150 bout victories are its most since the format of awarding one point for each bout win began in 1998.
Princeton finished first among Ivy League programs, behind only Notre Dame (174), Penn State (168) and St. John's (155) among the field of 30 schools. The title is Notre Dame's first since 2005, ending the two-year run by Penn State.
The 87 victories the Princeton women turned in were the most for any women's team, edging out the 84 posted by Notre Dame, Penn State and St. John's.
In addition to Stone's and Levin's All-America honors, freshman Diamond Wheeler finished 10th in the saber to earn the All-America plaudit, as did freshman Hyun-Kyung Yuh with her sixth-place finish in the foil and sophomore Hannah Safford by taking 12th in epee. Sophomore Phoebe Caldwell placed 14th in the epee.