Three men, four women qualify for NCAA championships

This past weekend was both an exciting and successful one for the men's and women's fencers as they entered the NCAA qualifying rounds at Drew. Three members of the men's team and four from the women's will attend the NCAA championships, as the top two from each school's squad are guaranteed to qualify. The foil, epee and sabre squads each put up impressive performances to cap off the weekend.

Sophomore Alejandro Bras led the way for Princeton in the men's foil division, finishing a solid fifth out of 29 competitors. With his performance, Bras qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Senior captain Scott Sherman and freshman Douglas Hohensee were not far behind, finishing tenth and thirteenth in the competition, respectively.

The womens' stats on March 5 were equally impressive, marked by a first-place finish from junior foil Jacqueline Leahy, which was good enough to earn a berth in the NCAA championship. Leahy, last season's squad leader and a member of this year's All-Ivy first team, has once again demonstrated her ability to step up and perform for her squad. Sophomore Sara Jew-Lim also had a good performance, finishing 13th of 28 competitors in the category.

The Tigers' epee squads once again showed their dominance in the qualifying rounds this past weekend. First-team All-Ivy member senior epee Soren Thompson led the way with a second-place finish out of 26 competitors.

Thompson, who finished seventh at the 2004 Olympic Games and second at the 2004 Buenos Aires Senior Epee World Cup, is currently No. 3 in the country and No. 23 in the world.

"I was very happy with how we did," Thompson said. "This year we had three guys who could go, and it was a little tough because we could only have two guys qualify."

Thompson will be joined by junior Ben Solomon to the NCAA Championships in the epee division. Solomon was followed closely by freshman Tommi Hurme. They finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The women's epee squad also had strong performances, with a second-place finish by sophomore Erin McGarry and a solid fourth-place spot secured by junior captain Kira Hohensee. Both Hohensee and McGarry were recognized for their leadership and impressive team performances this year with spots on the All-Ivy first team, and both will be representing Princeton at the NCAA Championships.

The men's sabre squad was flanked with an eighth-place finish by junior Owen Cornwall and a No. 16 finish by freshman Jonathan Winnerman. Cornwall is the current sabre squad leader, and Winnerman placed second at the NJISAA State Individual Tournament. Nevertheless, neither player qualified for the championships at the qualification round.

The women's squad was bolstered by a fourth-place performance from sophomore Mina Morova, and 15thand 18th-place finishes by sophomore Elan Dimaio and junior Caroline Block. Block, respectively. Block finished 12th at the IFAs. Only Morova qualified for the NCAA Championships, however.

The Tigers as a whole have had yet another strong finish this past weekend and the seven qualifers will look to display its dominance as they vie for the top spots at the NCAA Championships in Houston on March 17.