Temple University Athletics
Women's Fencing Prepares for NCAA Championships
3.19.09 | Women's Fencing
March 19, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Five members of the Temple women's fencing team will take part in the 2009 NCAA Fencing Championships this weekend at Penn State University in College Park, Pa. The event gets underway on Thursday, March 19 and will run through Sunday, March 22. This season, the Temple fencers will compete on Saturday and Sunday, while the men's events will be held on Thursday and Friday.
The Owls qualified five out of a possible six fencers to the Championships. A maximum of two fencers are allowed in each weapon for both women and men. Five qualifiers ties the best the team has done since the inclusion of all three weapons at the Championships. Temple last qualified five fencers in 2003. (They also qualified five in 2001 & 2002).
Representing Temple at the NCAA Championships in foil is junior Melissa Parker. This is Parkers' third appearance at the Championships. In 2008, she finished in 7th Place and was named 2nd Team All-American and in 2007 she placed 9th and was an Honorable Mention All-American.
In epee, the Owls are sending Junior Kristin Howell and sophomore Grace Wu. It marks the second trip to the NCAA Championships for both. In 2008, Howell finished ninth and was an Honorable Mention All-American.
In sabre, the Owls will be represented by sophomore Audrey Barroso and freshman Kamali Thompson. Both Barroso and Thompson will be making their debut appearance at this years Championships.
Last season, the Owls placed ninth among the Women's Teams at the NCAA Championships held at Ohio State University . The team is definitely looking to improve on that finish this year. They are currently ranked 9th in the latest USFCA Fencing Poll. Updates and recaps for the team will be posted at www.owlsports.com .
The full results will also be posted on the 2009 Championship Central page.
Highlights of the National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships will be shown on CBS at 1 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, May 2. The seasonal show will feature highlights of 17 different NCAA championships that took place during the winter.
The Venue:
The competition will take place at the Penn State Ashenfelter Multi-Sports Facility. The 2009 National Collegiate Fencing Championship will be the first fencing event hosted at this venue.
The Format:
24 fencers from across the country were selected in each weapon. Each of the weapon events will be a round-robin of the 24 competitors (for 2009 only, the women's foil field will consist of 25 student-athletes). The round-robin will consist of five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top four fencers in each event will fence direct elimination 15-touch bouts for first, second and third places. An institution's final placing in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes for the duration of the championships.
NCAA Women's Fencing Poll
