Temple University Athletics
Thursday, March 21
San Antonio, Texas
TBA
Temple University
vs
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women's Fencing Finishes 10th At NCAA Championships
3.26.13 | Women's Fencing
Results
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—The NCAA Fencing Championship, the toughest tournament of the year, was held over this past weekend in San Antonio, TX where four Owls earned the honor to represent Temple University. Just a week ago, Tiki Kastor, Epiphany Georges, Fatima Largaespada and Kim Howell learned that they had been selected as one of the top 24 fencers in their weapon to compete at the Championships. This was the first NCAA tournament for all four Owls, which can be an overwhelming experience, competing against the best collegiate fencers in the country one after another over the course of two days.
The Owls held their own and fought hard until the end of this grueling competition. Their efforts gave Temple a 10th place finish among all of the Women's Teams competing.
The team was led by Sophomore Tiki Kastor in Sabre who was able to overcome her nerves and had an outstanding result, tying for 11th place and finishing 14th overall. Kastor was steady both days of the competition and was able to stay focused which payed off for her tremendously. "Tiki showed good consistency throughout the weekend in her first trip to the NCAA Nationals," said Coach Baker. "Her schedule was extremely front-loaded, with many of the top fencers in the country in the first two rounds. Once she got through that stage, she went on a roll, finishing Day One on a five-bout winning streak. She took that momentum into the second day, continuing to fence well, with good command over a wide repertoire of actions and used her full game effectively. With the experience gained this year, the next couple should be very exciting."
In foil, Junior Epiphany Georges finished in 18th place while Freshman Fatima Largaespada finished 20th. According to Coach Franke, “Having two foilists competing was a plus because they could help each other throughout the tournament. Both fencers were a little overwhelmed the first day but came back strong on Day Two which I was very pleased to see. They lost a lot of bouts 4-5. If they could have won a few more of those, it would have significantly helped their final standing”.
In epee, which was undoubtedly the strongest event at the Championship, Junior Kim Howell also had a difficult first day, but was able to turn it around during the second day of the tournament and fence more like herself. Kim finished in 24th place overall. “This was not the result that I was hoping for, yet this was a very hard tournament that requires experience that Kim now has. This will help her prepare for the next NCAA tournament, said Coach Ferdman. Kim is a very talented athlete and I am looking forward to her utilizing the experience she gained at the Championships next year and continuing to work hard and improve.”
The Men's and Women's NCAA Fencing Championship was won by Princeton University. Notre Dame was second and Penn State was third. Individually, in the women's events, Epee was won by London Olympian Courtney Hurley from Notre Dame and Foil was won by Olympian Lee Kiefer, also from Notre Dame. The Sabre Individual event was won by Princeton's Eliza Stone.
The Owls' season now draws to a close but the coaches are already thinking about next year and looking forward to what they feel is an exciting future. With all four of the fencers that competed in the Championship returning next year, as well as the strength of the other returners, 2014 looks to be a very good year.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—The NCAA Fencing Championship, the toughest tournament of the year, was held over this past weekend in San Antonio, TX where four Owls earned the honor to represent Temple University. Just a week ago, Tiki Kastor, Epiphany Georges, Fatima Largaespada and Kim Howell learned that they had been selected as one of the top 24 fencers in their weapon to compete at the Championships. This was the first NCAA tournament for all four Owls, which can be an overwhelming experience, competing against the best collegiate fencers in the country one after another over the course of two days.
The Owls held their own and fought hard until the end of this grueling competition. Their efforts gave Temple a 10th place finish among all of the Women's Teams competing.
The team was led by Sophomore Tiki Kastor in Sabre who was able to overcome her nerves and had an outstanding result, tying for 11th place and finishing 14th overall. Kastor was steady both days of the competition and was able to stay focused which payed off for her tremendously. "Tiki showed good consistency throughout the weekend in her first trip to the NCAA Nationals," said Coach Baker. "Her schedule was extremely front-loaded, with many of the top fencers in the country in the first two rounds. Once she got through that stage, she went on a roll, finishing Day One on a five-bout winning streak. She took that momentum into the second day, continuing to fence well, with good command over a wide repertoire of actions and used her full game effectively. With the experience gained this year, the next couple should be very exciting."
In foil, Junior Epiphany Georges finished in 18th place while Freshman Fatima Largaespada finished 20th. According to Coach Franke, “Having two foilists competing was a plus because they could help each other throughout the tournament. Both fencers were a little overwhelmed the first day but came back strong on Day Two which I was very pleased to see. They lost a lot of bouts 4-5. If they could have won a few more of those, it would have significantly helped their final standing”.
In epee, which was undoubtedly the strongest event at the Championship, Junior Kim Howell also had a difficult first day, but was able to turn it around during the second day of the tournament and fence more like herself. Kim finished in 24th place overall. “This was not the result that I was hoping for, yet this was a very hard tournament that requires experience that Kim now has. This will help her prepare for the next NCAA tournament, said Coach Ferdman. Kim is a very talented athlete and I am looking forward to her utilizing the experience she gained at the Championships next year and continuing to work hard and improve.”
The Men's and Women's NCAA Fencing Championship was won by Princeton University. Notre Dame was second and Penn State was third. Individually, in the women's events, Epee was won by London Olympian Courtney Hurley from Notre Dame and Foil was won by Olympian Lee Kiefer, also from Notre Dame. The Sabre Individual event was won by Princeton's Eliza Stone.
The Owls' season now draws to a close but the coaches are already thinking about next year and looking forward to what they feel is an exciting future. With all four of the fencers that competed in the Championship returning next year, as well as the strength of the other returners, 2014 looks to be a very good year.
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