2013 Week-1 CF360 Fencing Awards | CF360 FENCERS OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE (2009-12)
Ohio State Men's Sabre Veteran Max Stearns Named CF360 National Fencer of the Week; six others among Primetime Performers
… Princeton men's foilist Michael Dudey tabbed for Rookie of the Week.
RELEASE: Feb. 6, 2013 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
Ohio State fifth-year senior men's sabre veteran Max Stearns (Winnipeg, Manitoba) has been named the national fencer of the week for Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2013, as presented by CollegeFencing360.com (CF360). Stearns headlines a grow of seven CF360 Primetime Performers of the Week for college fencing. Princeton freshen men's epeeist Michael Dudey (Bellaire, Texas) has been selected by CF360men as the national rookie of the week.
Ohio State fifth-year men's sabre veteran Max Stearns (right) – turned in a strong individual showing at the Northwestern Duals while continuing to help guide and develop the other two members of OSU's men's sabre rotation, a pair of converted foilists.
STEARNS is the battle-tested leader of an Ohio State fencing team that returned several top fencers from the 2012 NCAA title team, but he has faced added challenges during 2013 season as the only natural men's sabre fencer on the active roster (two converted foilists have filled out the sabre rotation). In addition to racking up an 18-2 record at the Northwestern Duals, Stearns helped while guide the new sabre fencers to several key wins – most notably Andrew McDonald's upset of Notre Dame All-American Kevin Hassett (#1 OSU edged #3 ND, 15-12) and Bill Meyer's win over Princeton's Robert Stone (2012 NCAA entrant), with the #4 Tigers holding on for the 14-13 win.
Stearns swept his bouts vs. rival Notre Dame and Princeton, which is led by 2012 NCAA semifinalist Phil Dershwitz. His only losses came vs. a pair of fellow 2012 NCAA entrants: Stanford's Cam Lindsay and Wayne State's Nick Silantyev. Stearns was sidelined due to injury during 2011 season but returned as one of leading forces behind OSU's 2012 NCAA title, reaching the NCAA semifinals (he earlier was 8th at the 2009 NCAAs and 13th in '10)
Princeton newcomer Michael Dudey (left) stepped up to the challenge at the Northwestern Duals, leading a Tigers men's foil team that lost eight fencers to graduation while taking on some of college fencing's elite talent.
DUDEY rose to the challenge in Princeton's first dual-meet action of 2013, going 24-3 at the Northwestern Duals to lead a men's foil team that had lost eight fencers to graduation. While facing an elite collection of college foilists in Evanston, Dudey posted a sweep of the squad from top-ranked Ohio State that included 2012 NCAA champion Zain Shaito and fellow All-American Chris Colley. He also notched a win vs. #3 Notre Dame and went 2-1 vs. #10 Stanford, including a victory over 2012 NCAA runner-up Turner Caldwell. Dude's only losses of the tournament came against a pair of 2012 Olympians – ND's Gerek Meinhardt (2010 NCAA champ) and Stanford's Alexander Massialas – plus ND's Ariel DeSmet, the 2011 NCAA champion.
The five fencers who round out this week's installment of College Fencing Primetime Performers include: Stanford sr./jr. women's epeeist Francesca Bassa (Houston, Texas) … Fairleigh Dickinson senior women's saber fencer Sophie Bischoff (Bonn, Germany) … Duke senior women's saber veteran Sean Cadley (New York, N.Y.) … Notre Dame sophomore women's epeeist Ashley Severson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) … and Brown sophomore men's foilist Barrett Weiss (Barrington, R.I.).
Notes for each honoree are included below, as are more action photos. Note that situational factors often play a role in the CF360 Primetime awards, going beyond the simple won-loss records. Such factors include quality of opponents, contribution to team victories, clutch wins, success away from home, etc. Whenever possible, there also is also some form of balance from different events/teams (in other words, these are not simply the seven "best" fencers from the past week).
Two members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's foil team – Notre Dame senior Gerek Meinhardt and Stanford freshman Alexander Massialas (longtime club teammates in their native San Francisco) – performed as expected at the Northwestern Duals, an obvious step down from the Paris World Cup where they were competing a week earlier, with Meinhardt going 17-1 at Northwestern and Massialas 22-3 (both lost to defending NCAA champion Zain Shaito of Ohio State).
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The Primetime Performer designation – also presented on sister sites CollegeSports360, CollegeSoccer360, CollegeBaseball360 and CollegeSoftball360 – seeks to recognize achievement based primarily on situational factors, and not solely on raw stats. Selection for the CF360 weekly awards are based on any/all of the following "primetime" criteria:
• In general, preference is given based on the quality of the opponent, contribution to team victory/success (when applicable, i.e. for top-10 teams), and situational factors involved in the fencer's accomplishments.
• Exhibited strong leadership and/or involved in clutch performances, match-winning bouts, noteworthy upsets, etc.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Bonus consideration is given for key performances away from team's home facility.
All photos courtesy of the respective schools or CF360 (action photos currently unavailable for Bassa; may add later when available).
College Fencing Primetime Performers of the Week #2
(Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2013 ... presented by CollegeFencing360.com)
FRANCESCA BASSA (women's epee… Stanford ... Sr./Jr. … Houston, TX)
Made her return to big-tournament college fencing action at the Northwetern Duals, racking up a 22-6 record that included bouts vs. several of the nation's top women's epeeists • did not compete during the 2012 college season while pursuing a spot on the U.S. Olympic team (two of the epeeists who made that Olympic team also were competing at Northwestern) • swept #4 Ohio State's veteran epee trio of Kararzyna Dabrowa (2012 NCAA champ), fellow All-American Carolina Piasecka & Tahsa Domashovetz, also handing All-American Ashley Severson (of #2 Notre Dame) one of her two losses in the tournament • swept #7 Northwestern (including 2012 NCAA semifinalist Kate Cavaugh and former NCAA qualifier Courtney Dumas) while beating Hannah Safford from top-ranked Princeton and going 2-1 vs. #9 Temple • two-time All-American who placed 8th at the 2010 NCAAs and 5th in '11 (has one year of eligibility remaining after 2013 season)
SOPHIRE BISCHOF
(women's sabre… Fairleigh Dickinson ... Sr. … Bonn, Germany)
Veteran member of emerging FDU program who put herself in position to make a run for the NCAAs, after posting several noteworthy wins at the Northwestern Duals • her 27-6 overall record at the two-day event in Evanston included sweep vs. #2 Notre Dame (including All-American Lian Osier), a victory over Princeton All-American Diamond Wheeler, a 2-1 record vs. the host #7 Wildcats (win over two-time NCAA entrant Chloe Grainger), another key win vs. #4 Ohio State, and a sweep of Stanford (win vs. 2012 NCAA entrant Julie Klepner)
SEAN CADLEY
(women's sabre... Duke ...
Sr. … New York, NY)
Comeback story who had surgery on both knees during the summer of 2012 and was unable to walk following those procedures, but she now has fashioned a 51-1 record in 2013 • went 17-1 at the annual Eric Sollee Invitational (held this year at MIT) while leading Duke women to 6-0 record, highlighted by 14-13 win over Brown • has put herself in position to contend for a spot in the 2013 NCAAs while helping Blue Devils overcome the loss of three-time NCAA woman's sabre champion Becca Ward.
*MICHAEL DUDEY (pictured above)
(men's foil ... Princeton ... Fr. … Bellaire, TX)
Rose to the challenge in Princeton's first dual-meet action of 2013, going 24-3 at the Northwestern Duals to lead men's foil team that lost eight fencers to graduation • faced collection of elite college foilists in Evanston, posting sweep of squad from top-ranked Ohio State that included 2012 NCAA champion Zain Shaito and fellow All-American Chris Colley • also notched a win vs. #3 Notre Dame and went 2-1 vs. #10 Stanford, including win over 2012 NCAA runner-up Turner Caldwell • his only losses of the tournament came against a pair of 2012 Olympians – ND's Gerek Meinhardt (2010 NCAA champ) and Stanford's Alexander Massialas – plus ND's Ariel DeSmet, the 2011 NCAA champion
ASHLEY SEVERSON
(women's epee … Notre Dame ... So. … Franklin Lakes, NJ)
Rolled to a 19-2 record at the Northwestern Duals, as part of the dominant Notre Dame women's epee squad that has helped lift the Irish women to the #1 national ranking • swept #4 Ohio State's veteran epee trio of Kararzyna Dabrowa (2012 NCAA champ), fellow All-American Carolina Piasecka & Tahsa Domashovetz, also going 3-0 vs. #9 Temple and 2-1 in 14-13 thriller that saw the then-#2 Irish edge previously top-ranked Princeton (with win over 2012 Olympian Susannah Scanlan) • her only other loss at Northwestern came vs. Stanford two-time All-American Francesca Bassa • the ND women's epeeists have combined for a 127-26 record in their bouts this season (with the squad also including Kelley Hurley, Ewa Nelip and Nicole Ameli)
*MAX STEARNS (pictured above)
(men's sabre … Ohio State … 5th-Yr.-Sr. … Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Veteran leader of Ohio State fencing team that returned several top fencers from the 2012 NCAA title team • has faced added challenges during 2013 season, as the only natural men's sabre fencer on the active roster (two converted foilists have filled out the sabre rotation) • racked up an 18-2 record at the Northwestern Duals while helping guide the new sabre fencers to several key wins – most notably Andrew McDonald's upset of Notre Dame All-American Kevin Hassett (#1 OSU edged #3 ND, 15-12) and Bill Meyer's win over Princeton's Robert Stone (2012 NCAA entrant), with the #4 Tigers holding on for the 14-13 win • swept his bouts vs. rival Notre Dame and Princeton, which is led by 2012 NCAA semifinalist Phil Dershwitz • his only losses came vs. a pair of fellow 2012 NCAA entrants: Stanford's Cam Lindsay and Wayne State's Nick Silantyev • was sidelined due to injury during 2011 season but returned as one of leading forces behind OSU's 2012 NCAA title, reaching the NCAA semifinals (earlier was 8th at the 2009 NCAAs and 13th in '10)
BARRETT WEISS (men's foil ... Brown ... So. … Barrington, RI)
Swept all three of his bouts vs. #9 Duke, leading Bears men to a 14-13 upset of the Blue Devils • went 12-1 at the annual Eric Sollee Invitational (held this year at MIT), with the Bears men winning all six of their matches • his stellar freshman season included finishing second at the 2012 Ivy League Championships and then placing sixth at the NCAA Northeast Regional to earn spot among the 24 men's foilists in the NCAA Championship field.
* Stearns is the CF360 National Fencer of the Week while Dudey is the National Rookie of the Week.