Foil Leahy finishes first at IFA Championships

"My back," "my foot," "my French horn" — these were Princeton fencing's real opponents at this weekend's Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals. Four eligible Princeton fencers could not compete due to conflicts and injuries. The event, which drew 180 fencers to Penn State from 16 schools, determined which athletes advance to the NCAA championships. While the Tigers certainly met with some disappointments, the weekend saw a first place victory in women's foil and one Princetonian who was so good, he was exempted from the tournament entirely.

There are 42 championship berths up for grabs between the six weapons, and each school can qualify a maximum of two athletes and one alternate per weapon, for a total of 12 qualifiers and six alternates.

A fencer qualifies for a trip to the Championships based on his or her initial seeding, which is based on season record and strength of schedule, and respective finish at the regional event. The initial seeding accounts for 40 percent of the points toward qualification, while the respective finish accounts for the other 60 percent. Ultimately, a committee makes decisions about who goes to the NCAA championships based on the results of regionals and the fencer's record during the season. The Tigers are still waiting to hear from the committee for definitive results.

The women's weekend, while marked with significant success, also saw significant disappointments. Top fencers such as senior Maura Coleman, sophomore Inhwa Song and sophomore Catherine Pack were all unable to compete for various reasons.

While Song was unable make it to regionals due to sickness, perhaps the most frustrating was Coleman's absence. Coleman, who professed that qualifying for regionals was one of her main goals at the beginning of the season, had to remain at Princeton over the weekend to play in the Orchestra concert as a requirement for her certificate in music.

Pack sat out the second half of the tournament because of a recurring back injury despite recent strides made in intense physical therapy. Even with her injury, Pack managed to place in the top 12 in sabre competition, technically qualifying her for the NCAA championships.

Despite these shortcomings, the Tigers individually had a great day with freshman epee Kira Hohensee fencing to eighth place, freshman epee Eleanor Leighton in sixth, senior Captain Mindy Rostal finishing thrid in foil and freshman foil Jacqueline Leahy capturing first place in her event. Leahy has been the fencer to watch this year. Undefeated in five touch bouts, she is ranked No. 2 in the United States as well as the world, "I am very thankful [for winning] but I realize anything can happen in five touch bouts and that its not like I'm unbeatable," Leahy said. "I have worked very hard and I really hope to do well at NCAA's."

Leahy will no doubt do more than well in Colorado, but she will have significant competition. At the championship she will face a Junior World Champion from Notre Dame against whom Leahy lost early in the year at the Penn State Invitational. Because the invitational was a non-collegiate event, this early loss did not affect her season record.

On the men's side, junior captain Soren Thompson was granted an exemption from this weekend's tournament to compete in Lichtenstein at a World Cup event. Despite his number one US ranking, Thompson's international ranking has suffered recently due to a lack of international competition.

Sophomore Mike Brosterman and junior Jim Leighton made the top 12 in sabre. Junior Eric Stodola finished ninth in foil, and freshman Ben Solomon made the top 12 in epee. Unfortunately, Solomon withdrew from the competition after a foot injury made continuing in the tournament too painful. Solomon's U.S. ranking (No. 1 in Under-20) will most likely allow him to qualify for the NCAA championships, however.

Spring break will mark the end of this year's fencing season with the NCAA championships at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Even without winning an Ivy League title, the Tigers still have the opportunity to win national championships.