CF360 was able to obtain the final "Fencer Strength Factor" (FSF) numbers that comprised the primary formula used in selecting entrants to the 2009 NCAA Championship. Bear in mind that the FSF numbers primarily are used to compare fencers from within the same region – thus, the relative nature of these "seeds" can be skewed a bit. Included below are the 24 NCAA entrants in each of the men's weapons, listed (hypothetically and unofficially) by what their seeding would be based on their final FSF number. There also are some quick notes on each weapon, providing perspective on how fencers have fared in matching their performance to their seed:
MEN'S FOIL NCAA "SEEDS"
1. Miles Chamley-Watson (PSU) ... currently 2nd
2. Andras Horanyi (OSU) ... 9th
3. Alexander Mills (PRIN) ... 12th
4. Gerek Meinhardt (ND) ... 1st
5. Daniel Cohen (Duke) ... 4th
6. Enzo Castellani (ND) ... 11th
7. Sherif Farrag (COL) ... 13th
8. Zane Grodman (Penn) ... 16th
9. Kai Itameri-Kinter (HARV) ... 20th
10. Nick Chinman (PSU) ... 3rd
11. Vidur Kapur (Penn) ... 10th
12. Alexis Landreville (SJU) ... 18th
13. Collin Sutter (OSU) ... 6th
14. Alex Khoshnevissian (STAN) ... 15th
15. Adam Pantel (Brown) ... 8th
16. Shiv Kacru (Yale) ... 14th
17. Kurt Getz (COL) ... 5th
18. Alexander Kao (NYU) ... 22nd
19. Dorian Cohen (Duke) ... 19th/WD
20. John Gurrieri (Yale) ... 21st
21. Ben Dorn (UCSD) ... 7th
22. Will Friedman (BRAN) ... 17th
23. Jon Yu (Brown) ... 24th
24. Michael Fong (UCSD) ... 23rd
Foil Quick Notes: the beauty of the NCAA Fencing Championship is that fencers who apepar to be longshots on paper can put themselves in position for All-America finishes (top-12), of even higher ... through day-1, the foilist who is most "fencer above his seed" is UC San Diego's Benjamin Dorn (#21 "seed"; currently 7th) ... Dorn's 8-6 record on Thursday included noteworthy wins over #5 seed Daniel Cohen of Duke (5-4), the Penn duo of Zane Grodman (#8 seed) and #11 seed Vidur Kapur (both wins were 5-3), and Harvard veteran/#9 seed Kai Itameri-Kinter (5-2) ... OSU's Collin Suter – whose strong Midwest Regional showing essentially knocked his All-America teammate Ben Parkins out of the '09 NCAA field – continued his postseason surge on Thursday, as the #13 seed currently stands in 6th-place with a 10-4 record ... Sutter handed ND's Gerek Meinhardt (a 2008 U.S. Olympian) his only loss on Thursday (5-2), adding other top wins over his OSU teammate and two-time NCAA champ Andras Horanyi (5-4), PSU All-American Nick Chonman (5-4), Princeton rookie/#3 seed Alexander Mills (5-1) and Columbia All-American Kurt Getz (5-3) ... Brown's Adam Pantel (#17) has parlayed his unorthodox style into a current 5th-place standing (Getz, currently 5th, had a subpar regular season and was "seeded" 17th) ... fencers who currently are standing well below their hypothetical seed include: Itameri-Kinter (20th; #9 seed), Mills (12th; #3 seed), Grodman (16th; #8 seed) and Horanyi (9th; #2 seed).
MEN'S EPEE NCAA "SEEDS"
1. Graham Wicas (PRIN) ... currently in 4th place
2. Slava Zingerman (WSU) ... 2nd
3. Benji Ungar (HARV) ... 1st
4. Jason Pryor (OSU) ... 11th
5. Karol Kostka (ND) ... 19th
6. Kevin Mo (STAN) ... 13th
7. Igor Tolkachev (OSU) ... 12th
8. Peter French (AFA) ... 6th
9. Daniel Trapani (AFA) ... 3rd
10. Stan Vaksman (SJU) ... 15th
11. Clayton Kenney (STAN) ... 20th
12. Michael Pearce (Yale) ... 14th
13. Dwight Smith (COL) ... 18th
14. Mykhaylo Mazur (WSU) ... 10th
15. Ben Wieder (Penn) ... 5th
16. Maxwell Dettlinger (PSU) ... 17th
17. Karl Harmenberg (HARV) ... 16th
18. Greg Schoolcraft (ND) ... 21st
19. James Moody (PSU) ... 7th
20. Nicholas Vomero (SJU) ... 23rd
21. Lorenzeo Castertano (COL) ... 9th
22. Jonathan Parker (Duke) ... 22nd
23. Mike Elfassy (PRIN) ... 8th
24. Alex Cohen (Yale) ... 24th
Epee Quick Notes: Penn All-American Ben Wieder (#15) could make a run at the medal round (top-4), as he currently is tied for third in wins (10-4) but is 5th overall (+8) ... another veteran fencer, PSU's James Moody (three-time NCAA entrant), stands in 7th-place despite being the hypothetical #19 seed ... two epeeists who had to battle their way into the NCAA field (with strong regional showings) have made the most of their opportunities, as Columbia's Lorenzo Csastertano (#21 seed) is holding down 9th place while Princeton's Mike Elfassy (#23 seed) is in 8th ... epeeists who performed several spots below their seed on Thursday include OSU's Jason Pryor (#4 seed; 11th place), ND's Karol Kostka (#5 seed; 19th), and the Stanford duo of Kevin Mo (#6 seed; 13th) and Clayton Kenney (#11; 20th place).
MEN'S SABEE NCAA "SEEDS"
1. Darryl Homer (SJU) ... currently in 5th place
2. Mike Momtselidze (OSU) ... 1st
3. Avery Zuck (ND) ... 6th
4. Max Stearns (OSU) ... 3rd
5. Jeff Spear (COL) ... 7th
6. Valentin Staller (HARV) ... 14th
7. Aleksander Ochocki (PSU) ... 4th
8. Jonathan Berkowsky (Penn) ... 9th
9. Andrew Bielen (Penn) ... 15th
10. Daniel Bak (PSU) ... 2nd
11. Barron Nydam (ND) ... 13th
12. Bobby Ziechmann (UNC) ... 12th
13. Sam Roukas (NYU) ... 20th
14. Peter Truszkowski (Duke) ... 16th
15. Jakub Gibczynski (WSU) .. 17th
16. Andrew Fischl (VAS) ... 22nd
17. Peter Souders (BC) ... 23rd
18. Alejandro Rojas (SJU) ... 10th
19. Lucas Janson (STAN) ... 8th
20. Max Murphy (STAN) ... 11th
21. Kevin Zeichmann (UNC) ... 21st
22. Adam Austin (BRAN) ... 19th
23. John Stogin (PRIN) ... 18th
24. Jon Ott (UCSD) ... 24th
Sabre Quick Notes: Hats off to the Stanford duo of Lucas Janson (#19 seed; 8th place) and Max Murphy (#20 seed; 11th) – who will return to the west coast with a solid showing under their belts, if they are able to maintain their top-12/All-America standing ... Alejandro Rojas (St. John's) also could depart as a 2009 All-American (currently 10th place), despite entering as the #18 seed ... Harvard freshman Valentin Staller (#6 seed; 14th place) will be looking to bounce back on Friday, with a day of NCAA Tournament experience now on his career resume, while NYU's Sam Roukas (#13 seed, 20th place) likely will not repeat as an All-American.