Friday, March 22
Cleveland, Ohio
All Day
Princeton University
vs
NCAA Championships
Daniel Kwak made the NCAA finals.
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Kwak Posts Tigers' Top Men's Saber Finish Since '96
March 22, 2019 | Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing
The men's competition wrapped up Friday for the Princeton fencing teams at the NCAA Championships, and sophomore Daniel Kwak made the NCAA saber finals before coming up just three touches short of an NCAA title.
Kwak's finish was the highest for any Tiger men's fencer since Jack Hudson '16 was the épée runner-up in 2015, and the highest for a Tiger men's saber since Max Pekarev '99 won the NCAA title in 1996. Kwak was aiming to become Princeton's first male NCAA fencing individual champ since épée Jonathan Yergler '13 won the 2012 NCAA title.
It was Kwak's second NCAA appearance, and it netted him his first All-America finish after coming in 13th a year ago. Kwak was one of four Tigers to earn All-America honors Friday, joined by rookie Mohamed Hamza, who came in sixth in foil in his first NCAA appearance, senior épée Wesley Johnson, who came in eighth in his third NCAA appearance and second All-America honoree, and junior épée Wesley Yuan, who came in ninth in his first NCAA appearance. Rookie foil Cameron Levy came in 20th in his NCAA Championship debut.
Kwak qualified for the NCAA semifinals by finishing fourth in the pool competition, and then he defeated top-seeded Domenik Koch of Ohio State 15-10 in the semis to advance. There, Penn State's Karol Metryka won the final 15-12 to take the NCAA title.
In the team standings, Princeton stands sixth heading into the women's competition, where sophomore épée Tatijana Stewart will represent the team.
Complete results are available here.
Kwak's finish was the highest for any Tiger men's fencer since Jack Hudson '16 was the épée runner-up in 2015, and the highest for a Tiger men's saber since Max Pekarev '99 won the NCAA title in 1996. Kwak was aiming to become Princeton's first male NCAA fencing individual champ since épée Jonathan Yergler '13 won the 2012 NCAA title.
It was Kwak's second NCAA appearance, and it netted him his first All-America finish after coming in 13th a year ago. Kwak was one of four Tigers to earn All-America honors Friday, joined by rookie Mohamed Hamza, who came in sixth in foil in his first NCAA appearance, senior épée Wesley Johnson, who came in eighth in his third NCAA appearance and second All-America honoree, and junior épée Wesley Yuan, who came in ninth in his first NCAA appearance. Rookie foil Cameron Levy came in 20th in his NCAA Championship debut.
Kwak qualified for the NCAA semifinals by finishing fourth in the pool competition, and then he defeated top-seeded Domenik Koch of Ohio State 15-10 in the semis to advance. There, Penn State's Karol Metryka won the final 15-12 to take the NCAA title.
In the team standings, Princeton stands sixth heading into the women's competition, where sophomore épée Tatijana Stewart will represent the team.
Complete results are available here.
Players Mentioned
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