Air Force Academy
NCAA Championships
Academy Fencers Make Clean Sweep of NCAA Western Regional Championships
3/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
In team weapon standings, the Academy's women's sabre and the men's epee teams were the overall victors finishing 4-0, 4-0. AFA's women's epee team was 3-1 while the women's foil team went 1-2. AFA's men's foil finished 2-2, and the men's sabre team was 3-1.
"This is our best team performance in the four years I've been here," Burrill said. "Not only did the men and women win first place, but we also had six qualifiers for the NCAA Division I Nationals. It is the most qualifiers from the Academy ever! This was a wonderful end of the season, especially for all of the seniors."
Individually, AFA's Burrill and Harris took first and second place, respectively, in the women's team epee; UC San Diego's Lauren Muir took third. Rix and Romero also took first and second in the women's sabre.
In men's epee, AFA's Kelsey and French took the top two places with third place going to Fullerton's Matt McConnaughy. Last month, French earned a spot on the USA Junior World Team. In men's sabre, AFA's C4C Sam Bartron took third place.
"As a senior and team captain, I couldn't have asked for a better performance from the team," C1C Anthony Pryor commented. "This is a great way to end my NCAA competitive career and I wish the team continued success in the upcoming years."
C4C Nick Mosca (men's foil), C2C Apphia Taylor (women's foil) and Bartron (men's sabre) and C4C Alison Freiman (women's sabre) also qualified for nationals as alternates at large.
Advancement to the NCAA Fencing Championships is not directly related to results from last week's action. A maximum of 12 athletes per school in each region are able to qualify for the national championships, which will be held at the Air Force Academy. The final field is determined only after the recommendations by coaches in each region are considered following the regional rounds. That announcement will be made in the next few days. The NCAA Division I Fencing Championships is slated for March 20-23 in the Cadet Field House. Admission is free.
2003 Western Regional Fencing Championship Results:
Women - Team Results: Air Force 9 - Cal Tech 0; Air Force 17 - Cal Fullerton 10; Air Force 15 - Stanford 12; Air Force 21 - UCSD 6.
Women's Epee - (rounds 1-4) Air Force 1-2, 7-2, 6-3, 6-3. Cal Tech 2-4,b 1-2, 2-1, 1-2. CSUF 2-7, 2-1, 5-4, 2-7. Stanford 3-6, 1-2, 4-5, 3-6. UCSD 3-6, 2-1, 7-2, 6-3.
Women's Foil - (rounds 1-4) Air Force N/A, 1-8, 2-7, 6-3, Cal Tech N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A. CSUF 8-1, N/A, 3-6, 6-3. Stanford 7-2, N/A, 6-3, 7-2. UCSD 3-6, N/A, 3-6, 2-7.
Women's Sabre - (rounds 1-4) Air Force 9-0, 9-0, 7-2, 9-0. Cal Tech 0-9, 7-2, 3-6, 5-4. CSUF 0-9, 2-7, 1-8, 3-6. Stanford 2-7, 6-3, 8-1, 7-2. UCSD 0-9, 4-5, 6-3, 2-7.
Men -- Team Results: Air Force 15 - Stanford 12; Air Force 13 - Cal Tech 2; Air Force - 15 - Cal Fullerton 12; Air Force 22 - UCSD 5.
Men's Epee - (rounds 1-4) Air Force 5-1, 6-3, 8-1, 9-0. Cal Tech 1-5, 0-9, 1-5, 3-6. CSUF 3-6, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Stanford 1-8, 5-1, 6-3, 7-2. UCSD 0-9, 3-6, 3-6, 2-7.
Men's Foil - (rounds 1-4) Air Force 3-0, 3-6, 3-6, 8-1. Cal Tech 0-3, 0-9, 0-3, 0-3. CSUF 6-3, 3-0, 4-3, 8-1. Stanford 6-3, 3-0, 6-3, 9-0. UCSD 1-8, 3-0, 1-8, 0-9.
Men's Sabre - (rounds 1-4) Air Force 5-1, 6-3, 4-5, 5-4. Cal Tech 1-5, 2-7, 0-6, 0-6. CSUF 3-6, 4-2, 1-8, 4-5. Stanford 5-4, 6-0, 8-1, 6-3. UCSD 4-5, 6-0, 5-4, 3-6.
