Temple University Athletics
Thursday, March 22
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NCAA Championships
Three Fencers Head to NCAA Championships on Thursday and Friday
3.21.18 | Women's Fencing
PHILADELPHIA - Three Temple fencers have earned a chance to compete with the very best in the collegiate ranks as they head to the 2018 NCAA Championships. Sophomores Kennedy Lovelace (foil), Malia Hee (sabre) and Kerry Plunkett (sabre) will compete on Thursday and Friday, March 22-23 at Penn State University.
Plunkett will make her second NCAA appearance in as many years, while Hee and Lovelace have earned their first-ever berth.
"We've tried to set up the season so that they're really peaking during postseason," said Temple head coach Dr. Nikki Franke. "All we want is for them to perform at the level they're capable of. Regardless of the outcome, we just want them to fence well and to show the improvement that they've made throughout the season."
PSU will host the championships at its Multi-Sport Facility, with the women's fencing competition set for March 22-23 and the men's to follow on March 24-25. Fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners fencing to determine first and second places, and the non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.
"Just like our NCAA Regional, it's a very intense competition, but this time two days instead of one," said Franke. "It's tough bout after tough bout. They have to realize they're as strong as everyone that's there and that they'll be winning bouts and losing bouts just like everyone else. So you can't get too high with any win or too low with any loss. You just have to keep working. That's what we're trying to emphasize to them, to just take it one touch at a time and don't look too ahead or behind. Seize the moment."
In foil, Lovelace finished 61-22 in dual meets this season, garnering the most overall wins on the team. She was named the Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Month in February after going 33-11 which included a 9-0 mark at the Duke Invitational. She started the season placing sixth at the Temple Open, and followed it up with a third-place finish at the Penn State Garret Open.
In mid-January, Lovelace had an extremely strong showing at the Penn State Invitational, going 11-1 overall with 3-0 marks against Columbia, UNC and Yale and a 2-1 record vs. Penn State.
Hee is coming off an impressive showing at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional on March 10 where she tied for first in sabre and finished second based on touches. She went 55-22 in dual meets, helping sabre to many impressive wins over the course of the season. Hee went 11-2 on day one of the Philadelphia Invitational, going 3-0 against both Duke and Northwestern. She finished 14-4 overall over two days at the Northwestern Duals, and was 8-3 at the Temple Invitational with a 3-0 record vs. #5 Princeton and 2-1 marks against #3 Penn State and #8 Penn.
Plunkett was also a top-five finalist at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional, and took fourth place. In dual meets, Plunkett went 53-19 in 2017-18. She went 11-2 on day one of the Philadelphia Invitational, going 3-0 vs. both NYU and Cornell. On the first day of the Northwestern Duals, Plunkett finished 8-1 with a 3-0 mark vs. Northwestern. To finish the dual meet season, she went 9-2 for the 5-0 sabre squad, posting 3-0 marks against both #3 Penn State and #8 Penn.
Last season, Plunkett placed 19th in sabre at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, after taking 11th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional.
The qualification for the NCAA Championship is based on a formula comprising a 60 percent weight on regional performance and 40 percent on regular-season meets. Regional champions for each weapon automatically advance, with remaining bids going to fencers based on performance and the region they compete in. Each weapon's field is made up of just 24 total competitors.
A live feed of the NCAA semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN App. The semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights will air on ESPNU at 1 p.m. Eastern time on April 4.
Live Results
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Plunkett will make her second NCAA appearance in as many years, while Hee and Lovelace have earned their first-ever berth.
"We've tried to set up the season so that they're really peaking during postseason," said Temple head coach Dr. Nikki Franke. "All we want is for them to perform at the level they're capable of. Regardless of the outcome, we just want them to fence well and to show the improvement that they've made throughout the season."
PSU will host the championships at its Multi-Sport Facility, with the women's fencing competition set for March 22-23 and the men's to follow on March 24-25. Fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners fencing to determine first and second places, and the non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.
"Just like our NCAA Regional, it's a very intense competition, but this time two days instead of one," said Franke. "It's tough bout after tough bout. They have to realize they're as strong as everyone that's there and that they'll be winning bouts and losing bouts just like everyone else. So you can't get too high with any win or too low with any loss. You just have to keep working. That's what we're trying to emphasize to them, to just take it one touch at a time and don't look too ahead or behind. Seize the moment."
In foil, Lovelace finished 61-22 in dual meets this season, garnering the most overall wins on the team. She was named the Under Armour OwlSports.com Athlete of the Month in February after going 33-11 which included a 9-0 mark at the Duke Invitational. She started the season placing sixth at the Temple Open, and followed it up with a third-place finish at the Penn State Garret Open.
In mid-January, Lovelace had an extremely strong showing at the Penn State Invitational, going 11-1 overall with 3-0 marks against Columbia, UNC and Yale and a 2-1 record vs. Penn State.
Hee is coming off an impressive showing at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional on March 10 where she tied for first in sabre and finished second based on touches. She went 55-22 in dual meets, helping sabre to many impressive wins over the course of the season. Hee went 11-2 on day one of the Philadelphia Invitational, going 3-0 against both Duke and Northwestern. She finished 14-4 overall over two days at the Northwestern Duals, and was 8-3 at the Temple Invitational with a 3-0 record vs. #5 Princeton and 2-1 marks against #3 Penn State and #8 Penn.
Plunkett was also a top-five finalist at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional, and took fourth place. In dual meets, Plunkett went 53-19 in 2017-18. She went 11-2 on day one of the Philadelphia Invitational, going 3-0 vs. both NYU and Cornell. On the first day of the Northwestern Duals, Plunkett finished 8-1 with a 3-0 mark vs. Northwestern. To finish the dual meet season, she went 9-2 for the 5-0 sabre squad, posting 3-0 marks against both #3 Penn State and #8 Penn.
Last season, Plunkett placed 19th in sabre at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, after taking 11th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional.
The qualification for the NCAA Championship is based on a formula comprising a 60 percent weight on regional performance and 40 percent on regular-season meets. Regional champions for each weapon automatically advance, with remaining bids going to fencers based on performance and the region they compete in. Each weapon's field is made up of just 24 total competitors.
A live feed of the NCAA semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN App. The semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights will air on ESPNU at 1 p.m. Eastern time on April 4.
Live Results
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Players Mentioned
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
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