One for the Team National Championship
Four for the Individual National Champions
And a thank you Ivy League - still don't understand their Covid stance once the rest of the country found a way to make it work in every other sport. "Our players won't transfer because we're the Ivey League" attitude is really a big FU to their student athletes.
They continue to cling to a mythology that student-athletes are no different than any other students and therefore cannot be treated differently in any material way. (Which ignores the fact that such students are already treated very differently from an admissions perspective and in terms of multi-million departments existing to support their activities).
Alibaba's Joe Tsai (former Yale lacrosse player) offered to foot the bill for a bubbled Ivy lacrosse season. When he got pushback about favoring lacrosse athletes over those in other sports, he offered to pick up the tab for all the other spring sports as well. No dice. It is widely believed that the Ivy Presidents weren't willing to be seen as expanding this type of effort on behalf of athletes while not doing something similar for other student activities.
It's not that the Ivy League couldn't figure out a way to compete safely in light of the health risks. It's that they were unwilling to take steps on behalf of student-athletes that they weren't taking on behalf of everyone. At which point one wonders why you even bother having an athletic department.
Tied for most at Notre Dame!
Congratulations to the team!
Did they withdraw due to Covid? I hope it wasn't due to performance, as they need to fight through that.
We were up 9 after the men's results, and the women are currently +3, +2, and -3 relative to PSU on the three weapons, so barring a collapse on the final day, ND is in great shape:
Saber - Linder (the distaff version) will almost certainly make the medal round, whereas both PSU sabreuses are on the outside looking in from quite a ways back (as is ND's second)
Foil - Likely that both ND's Berthier and PSU's Catantan will make top-4, and both ND and PSU have a fighting shot at a second berth among a gaggle of folks tightly packed 3-9.
Épée - ND's Hsieu and PSU's Gavrilko both sit in top-4 position going into the last day, but ND's Grady is lurking in 5th, while PSU's 2nd is 2 bouts and innumerable touches back in 8th.
It felt like they backed into extending the lead, but they did. I'm excited for them. I knew foil was going to be tough with newcomers Ferrari and Koo and the height of Banbury and Biasco, but I had not followed Catantan, nor did I realize that Papppone had improved that much, since she came in 20th in 2019. Bring it home ladies!
With a 9 bout lead and only Penn State able to surpass the Irish, things are looking good. We match up well against the field, so I am optimistic that the women will extend the lead even further and bring home the National Championship! I am rooting for UCSD to have a decent day and move into 3rd, which would be great for their program (and humbling to Duke and BC).
Although Stephen Ewart lost in the final of Epee to PSU Griffiths, we will have an individual NCAA champion and a runner-up in the Foil and Saber
It's as though the 1980 US hockey team had lost to Finland in their final game.
in 15 touch bouts.
2 years ago, after Ewart went 5-18 or something like that in the NCAAs, he went and won a Junior World Cup. In a 15 touch bout, he is the real deal.
MF - MACHOVEC ND (been chomping at the bit to make his mark)
ME - PISKOVATSKOV PSU (almost a Domer. phenomenal athlete) GRIFFITHS PSU runner up
MS - LINDER ND (totally wide open with no clear favorite. this is a shot in the dark)
WF - BERTHIER ND (I expect her to do very well)
WE - CHORNIY PSU (shocked if she doesn't win)
WS - MOSS PSU (The clear favorite but has had a year+ of bad results. I'm a huge fan, and rooting for her.)
Team = ND
Have things gone as you expected for ND?
Are we still in good position?
I'm sure there are many others here that follow ALL ND sports, but may not have a clue with what goes on with fencing.
I always said fencing could become a great spectator sport if they got rid of the electronics and the blunted tips - keep the white uniforms and scored it by red marks.
the favorites. Is UC San Diego a threat with their 12 qualifiers?