Thursday, March 21
Columbus, Ohio
Princeton University
vs
NCAA Championships
Tristan Szapary won the 2024 NCAA men's épée championship.
Photo by: Princeton Athletic Communications
Szapary Wins NCAA Épée Title
March 24, 2024 | General, Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing
Tristan Szapary's final bout as a Princeton fencer delivered the two-time All-American an NCAA épée championship, making him the ninth Princeton men's fencer to win an NCAA individual title and first since 2012.
Szapary held off Notre Dame's Jonathan Hamilton-Meikle 15-14 in the final after knocking off Harvard's Henry Lawson 15-9 in the semifinal. Lawson was the top seed after the pool round as he a won 17 of 23 bouts to 16 for Szapary and Hamilton-Meikle.
Szapary's title is the first for the Princeton men since Jonathan Yergler '13 won the épée title in 2012, and it's the sixth épée title in men's program history.
Szapary trailed only at 1-0 in the final, building a 7-2 lead by the second period before Hamilton-Meikle chipped away to get the deficit down to 9-8 by the end of the second. Hamilton-Meikle was again within one three times in the third period before the winning touch, which came on a double-touch after Szapary led 14-13.
Princeton finished fourth as a team, the 10th time in the last 12 NCAA Championships in which Princeton has competed that the Tigers placed fourth or better. The finish was one spot short of bringing home hardware with a rule change ahead of this season that only the top three finishers in non-bracketed NCAA Championships would earn a trophy. Harvard won the team title with 169 wins between the men's and women's fencers, eight in front of Notre Dame's 161 with Columbia third at 149 and the Tigers fourth at 131.
Full results are available here.
Here's a look at where all 11 Tigers finished individually:
Alec Brooke, Fr., Épée
Finished 14th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Elizabeth He, So., Foil
Finished 22nd in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Ryan Jenkins, Sr., Saber
Tied for third, earning her third All-American honor, along with 2020 and 2023.
Andrew Johnson, Sr., Saber
Finished 14th in his second trip to the NCAA Championships.
Alexandra Lee, Fr., Saber
Finished seventh, earning All-American honors in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Matthew Limb, So., Saber
Finished 10th, earning his second All-American honor in as many seasons with Princeton.
Jessica Lin, Jr., Épée
Finished ninth, earning All-American honors for the third time in as many seasons with Princeton.
David Prilutsky, Jr., Foil
Finished 19th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Ariana Rausch, Sr., Épée
Finished seventh, earning All-American honors in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Tristan Szapary, Sr., Épée
NCAA champion, earning his second All-American honor, along with 2023.
Ethan Um, Fr., Foil
Finished 15th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Szapary held off Notre Dame's Jonathan Hamilton-Meikle 15-14 in the final after knocking off Harvard's Henry Lawson 15-9 in the semifinal. Lawson was the top seed after the pool round as he a won 17 of 23 bouts to 16 for Szapary and Hamilton-Meikle.
Szapary's title is the first for the Princeton men since Jonathan Yergler '13 won the épée title in 2012, and it's the sixth épée title in men's program history.
Szapary trailed only at 1-0 in the final, building a 7-2 lead by the second period before Hamilton-Meikle chipped away to get the deficit down to 9-8 by the end of the second. Hamilton-Meikle was again within one three times in the third period before the winning touch, which came on a double-touch after Szapary led 14-13.
Princeton finished fourth as a team, the 10th time in the last 12 NCAA Championships in which Princeton has competed that the Tigers placed fourth or better. The finish was one spot short of bringing home hardware with a rule change ahead of this season that only the top three finishers in non-bracketed NCAA Championships would earn a trophy. Harvard won the team title with 169 wins between the men's and women's fencers, eight in front of Notre Dame's 161 with Columbia third at 149 and the Tigers fourth at 131.
Full results are available here.
Here's a look at where all 11 Tigers finished individually:
Alec Brooke, Fr., Épée
Finished 14th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Elizabeth He, So., Foil
Finished 22nd in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Ryan Jenkins, Sr., Saber
Tied for third, earning her third All-American honor, along with 2020 and 2023.
Andrew Johnson, Sr., Saber
Finished 14th in his second trip to the NCAA Championships.
Alexandra Lee, Fr., Saber
Finished seventh, earning All-American honors in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Matthew Limb, So., Saber
Finished 10th, earning his second All-American honor in as many seasons with Princeton.
Jessica Lin, Jr., Épée
Finished ninth, earning All-American honors for the third time in as many seasons with Princeton.
David Prilutsky, Jr., Foil
Finished 19th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Ariana Rausch, Sr., Épée
Finished seventh, earning All-American honors in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Tristan Szapary, Sr., Épée
NCAA champion, earning his second All-American honor, along with 2023.
Ethan Um, Fr., Foil
Finished 15th in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Players Mentioned
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