By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
Notre Dame's Sarah Borrmann (left) improved on her 5th-place finish from the 2008 Penn State Open.
Notre Dame junior Sarah Borrmann (Beaverton, Ore.) – the 2008 NCAA runner-up (13th in '09) – won the women's sabre competition on Saturday (Nov. 21) at Penn State's annual Max Garret Open. Borrmann defeated Harvard sophomore Caroline Vloka (the '09 NCAA runner-up) in a 15-11 title bout that saw the #4 seed beat the #3.
After advancing through the pool rounds in the 45-fencer field, Borrmann was the #4 seed in the direct elimination and posted a 15-9 win over the #13 seed, Ohio State sophomore Margarita Tschomakova (Bonn, Germany), in the round-of-16. Tschomakova earned All-America honors as a freshman, after placing 9th at the 2009 NCAAs. Borrmann went on to register a 15-8 quarterfinal win over 12th-seeded Penn State freshman Jessica Russo (Wayne, Pa.) before knocking off the #8 seed, Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.), in a 15-12 semifinal. Borrmann placed 23rd at the 2007 Penn State Open and finished 5th at the event one year ago ('08).
Harvard's Caoline Vloka (left) finished second at the 2009 Penn State Open, matching her finish eight months earlier at the same location (PSU) during the 2009 NCAAs (pictured; photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).
The 3rd-seeded Vloka posted her round-of-16 win over 14th-seeded Northwestern freshman Chloe Grainger (Decatur, Ga.), in a 15-11 bout, followed by a 15-12 quarterfinal vs. 11th-seeded ND junior Eileen Hasssett (Beaverton, Ore.), a two-time All-American who placed 5th at the 2008 NCAAs and 6th in '09 (Hassett placed 3rd at the '07 PSU Open and was the '08 runner-up). Vloka then won in the semifinals by the same score, vs. 19-year-old Illinois native Allison Miller (the #2 seed, who is listed in the results as being an Ohio State fencer but does not show up on OSU's current online roster). Miller went on to defeat Cichomski in the third-place bout (15-12).
Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (left) and classmate Eliza Stone could prove to be two of the top newcomers in collegiate women's sabre fencing.
In the other two quarterfinals, Cichomski upset fellow Princeton freshman and top seed Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.) in a 15-12 bout, while Allison Miller edged 7th-seeded OSU junior Falencia Miller (Decatur, Ga.) – who earned 2009 All-America honors (10th at NCAAs) – in another 15-12 final (Miller placed 4th at the '07 PSU Open). Cichomski earlier had bested University of Pennsylvania junior Danielle Kamis (#9 seed; Gladwyne, Pa.) in the round-of-16, by a 15-12 score. Kamis (who was 9th at the '07 PSU Open) earned All-America honors at the 2008 NCAAS (10th place) before finishing 14th at the '09 NCAAs, which were held at Penn State. Allison Miller's first DE bout produced a 15-10 win over the #15 seed, Penn State sophomore Olivia Benedek (State College, Pa.; placed 9th at '08 PSU Open).
Princeton first-year fencer Eliza Stone (left) emerged from the Penn State Open pool rounds as the top seed in the direct-elimination phase.
The other four round-of-16 bouts went as follows: Stone defeated Harvard freshman Elena Helgiu (#16 seed; Wayne, N.J.) in a 15-12 bout ... Falencia Miller nipped ND freshman Lian Osier (10th seed; Battle Ground, Wash.), 15-14 ... PSU's Russo topped 5th-seeded Yale freshman Madeline Oliver (Bethesda, Md.), in a 15-9 bout ... and ND's Hassett survived a 15-14 bout vs. Fairleigh Dickinson freshman Sophia Bischof (Bonn, Germany; #6 seed).
Several of the top college women's sabreists were not at the 2009 Penn State Open, including three of the top-4 finishers at the 2009 NCAAs: Duke sophomore Becca Ward ('08 Olympic medalist; '09 NCAA champ), St. John's senior Dagmara Wozniak and Columbia senior Daria Schneider . Others of note who did not compete at the '09 PSU Open include Penn State sophomore Monica Aksamit (5th at '09 NCAAs), Columbia junior Jackie Jacobson (7th at '09 NCAAs) and Penn sophomore Dominika Franciszkowicz (12th at '09 NCAAs).
Ohio State junior Falencia Miller (pictured, in action at the '09 NCAAs) and OSU newcomer Allison Miller (they are not sisters) both hold USFA top-20 national rankings (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).
Many of the fencers mentioned above currently hold top-20 status in the U.S. Fencing Association's national rankings for U.S. senior-level women's sabreists: Wozniak (2nd), Aksamit (3rd), Schneider (4th), Vloka (8th), Osier (11th), Ward (12th), Stone (15th), Faclencia Miller (17th), Hassett (19th) and Allison Miller (20th). ... Others in the top-20 include: former ND fencer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis (1st; '06 NCAA champ); Duke alum Ibithaj Muhammad (5th); former Columbia fencer and '05 NCAA champ Emily Jacobson (6th); Rutgers alum and '03 NCAA champ Alexis Jemal (7th); former Yale fencer and two-time NCAA champ Sada Jacosbon (9th); former Columbia fencer and four-time All-American Emma Baratta (10th); 17-year-old Diamond Wheeler (13th); Columbia sophomore Samantha Roberts (14th); 17-year-old Nicole Glon (16th); and New Jersey high-school senior Faizah Muhammad (18th).
2009 Penn State Max Garret Open – Women's Sabre
Notre Dame junior Sarah Borrmann (left) – the 2008 NCAA champion – was seeded 4th after the pool bouts at the '09 Penn State Open and went on to win the title, following direct-elimination wins over Ohio State's Margatira Tschmoakova (15-9), Penn State's Jessica Russo (15-8), Princeton's Joanna Cichomski (15-12) and Harvard's Caroline Vloka (15-11).
FINAL
(4) Sarah Borrmann (Notre Dame) def. (3) Caroline Vloka (Harvard) ... 15-11
SEMIFINALS
(4) Borrmann (ND) def. (8) Joanna Cichomski (Princeton) ... 15-12
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (2) Allison Miller (Ohio St.) ... 15-12
THIRD-PLACE BOUT
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (8) Cichomski (PRIN) ... 15-12
Notre Dame junior Eileen Hassett (left) now has placed 3rd-2nd-7th in three appearances at the Penn State Open.
QUARTERFINALS
(1) (8) Cichomski (PRIN) def. Eliza Stone (PRIN) ... 15-14
(4) Borrmann (ND) def. Jessica Russo (Penn St.) ... 15-8
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (11) Eileen Hassett (ND) ... 15-12
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (7) Falencia Miller (OSU) ... 15-12
ROUND-of-16 (start of direct-elimination)
(1) Stone (PRIN) def. (16) Elena Helgiu (HARV) ... 15-12
(8) Cichomski (PRIN) def. (9) Danielle Kamis (Univ. of Pennsylvania) ...15-12
(12) Russo (PSU) def. (5) Madeline Oliver (Yale) ... 15-9
(4) Sarah Borrmann (ND) def. (13) Margatira Tschomakova (OSU)... 15-9
Penn junior Danielle Kamis (left; in action at the '09 NCAAs) – a 20008 All-American and two-time NCAA participant – was stopped in her first DE bout at the '09 Penn State Open, losing 15-12 to Princeton freshman Joanna Cichomski (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).
(round-of-16 results; cont.)
(3) Vloka (HARV) def. (14) Chloe Grainger (Northwestern) ... 15-11
(11) Hassett (ND) def. (6) Sophia Bischof (Fairleigh Dickinson) ... 15-14
(7) F. Miller (OSU) def. (10) Lian Osier (ND) ... 15-14
(2) A. Miller (OSU) def. (15) Olivia Benedek (PSU) ... 15-10
2009 Penn State Open – Women's Sabre Final Standings
Harvard's Caroline Vloka (left)
1. Sarah BORRMANN (Notre Dame)
2. Carolina VLOKA (Harvard)
3. Allison MILLER (Ohio State)
4. Joanne CICHOMSKI (Princeton)
5. Eliza STONE (Princeton)
6. Falencia MILLER (Ohio State)
7. Eileen HASSETT (Notre Dame)
8. Jessica RUSSO (Penn State)
Ohio State sophomore Margarita Tschomakova (left; in action at the '09 NCAAs) was seeded 13th before losing in the DE to the eventual champion, Sarah Borrmann of Notre Dame (photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).
17. Jennifer SAWICKI (North Carolina)
18. Kamali THOMPSON (Temple)
19. Whitney WHITE (Northwestern)
20. Alicia GURRIERI (Northwestern)
20. Marta STEPIEN (Notre Dame)
22. Kathryn PALAZZOTO (Notre Dame)
23. Ashley DONALD (Duke)
24. Lee-Grace VALIGORSKY (Penn State)
25. Christie GRIFFITH (Temple)
26. Emily CHENG (Ohio State)
27. Biance CABRERA (Princeton)
28. Hayley LEVITT (Harvard)
29. Audrey BAROSSO (Temple)
30. Allison KELLER (Northwestern)
31. Jennifer IVERS (Yale)
32. Katherine ARDEN (Yale)
33. Samantha PASCARELLI (Temple)
34. Lori GRESZCZAK (Penn State)
35. Sara LEUNG (North Carolina)
36. Janelle KRANNICH (Penn State)
37. Andrea FEUER (Yale)
38. Genele STREITZ (Fairleigh Dickinson)
39. Arwen KANDT (Penn State club team)
40. Lily FU (North Carolina)
40. Deanna LOFFREDO (Penn State)
42. Heather MORRILL (Fairleigh Dickinson)
42. Danielle GUILFOYLE (Notre Dame)
44. Jessica CAVUOTI (Fairleigh Dickinson)
45. Stephanie HERBERT (Penn State)
Notre Dame junior Eileen Hassett (pictured below), in action at the 2009 NCAAs
(photo by Pete LaFleur/CF360).
