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Ibtihaj Muhammad Finishes Sixth at NCAA Championships
Houston, Texas - Ibtihaj Muhammad finished sixth at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Houston, Texas on Friday while Duke is in ninth place at the end of the women's competition.
The second day of competition wrapped up the competition for each of the three women’s weapons. The Blue Devils had five women’s fencers compete, combining for 43 victories to finish ninth. Penn State leads the team race with 93 wins, 10 more than second place Notre Dame. Duke is two wins shy of Ohio State for eighth place.
The women’s team was led by Muhammad, a junior from Maplewood, N.J., who wrapped up the tournament with a sixth place finish in saber. It was her highest career finish in the NCAA Championships. She finished three places higher than her previous best, a ninth place finish in 2004. She ended the tournament with 16 victories and was one of five fencers to record at least 100 touches.
Allison Schafer, a junior from Morristown, N.J., was also in action at saber for Duke. She moved up two spots from her day one placing to finish in 19th overall. She won six matches in the tournament and finished two spots back of her 17th place finish last season. Notre Dame’s Mariel Zagunis won the gold medal with a 15-8 victory over Emily Jacobson of Columbia/Barnard. Emma Baratta of Columbia/Barnard earned a close 15-14 win against Penn State’s Caitlin Thompson for the bronze.
The Blue Devils had two fencers competing in epee. Anne Kercsmar, a junior from Beachwood, Ohio, finished finished in 16th, two spots higher than her day one finish. She finished one place higher than last season while recording 10 victories. Dorothy Hubbard, a senior from Shreveport, La., ranked two places behind Kercsmar in 18th place. She was competing in her first career NCAA Tournament and ended with nine wins. Katarzyna Trzopek of Penn State won the gold medal with a 12-11 win over Anna Garina of Wayne State. Ohio State’s Kaela Brendler defeated Wayne State’s Justyna Konczalska 15-11 for the bronze medal.
Marilyn Tycer, a sophomore from Portland, Ore., made her first appearance in the NCAA Championships and came away with a 24th place finish, recording two wins. Erzsebet Garay of St. John’s maintained her lead after the first day, defeating Jacqueline Leahy of Princeton, 14-12, for the gold medal. Emily Cross of Harvard earned the bronze medal with a 15-4 win against Penn State’s Annekathrin Donath.
The NCAA Championships will continue on Saturday when the men take center state. Peter Truszkowski is Duke’s only men’s fencer in the competiton. He will compete in saber. Saturday will feature the first four rounds of competition for each weapon. The tournament will wrap up on Sunday with the men’s finals.
