By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
Notes – Qualification for the 2012 NCAA Championships (March 22-25, at Ohio State) is based on a formula combination of Fencer Seed Factor/FSF (40%; from regular-season dual meets) and Regional finish (60%). The West Region has two automatic berths to the 2012 NCAA Championships in every weapon except men's epee (3). There is a maximum of two entries per school in each weapon. NCAA bids become official on March 13. In some cases, coaches have an option in selecting which fencers will comprise their entries in the NCAAs (if additional fencers meet the qualification standard). There also are two NCAA at-large spots in each weapon, open to fencers from any region (again, as long as team already has not qualified two in the particular weapon).
Stanford senior Rebecca Chung (right) fenced primarily foil
during the past two seasons (pictured), but she switched to epee
this season and now has a strong chance at making the 2012 NCAAs
(after beating teammate Ashley Titan in fence-off to win West Regional).
CLICK HERE for 2012 West Regional MEN'S recap (women's below)
Here's an overview of the NCAA West Regional women's fencing competition, held at Stanford. The format was a full round-robin (one pool, ranging from 8-9 fencers per weapon). Data below indicates Regional finish (W-L/total-points indicator), seed entering regional, basic bio. info. (class year and hometown), past finishes in Regional and NCAA Championship events, probable NCAA qualifiers, key bouts, and brief analysis (more headshot and action photos may be added, as available).
More to follow for the other three 2012 Regionals (Midwest, Mid-Atlantic/South, and Northeast).
All photos on this page courtesy of the respective schools.
UC San Diego sophomore women's sabreist Elissa Gesner (left)
2012 NCAA Women's Allocations (24 per weapon)
Foil – 8 from Northeast Region ... 7 Mid-Atlantic/South ... 5 Midwest ... 2 West ... 2 at-large
Epee – 8 from Northeast Region ... 6 Mid-Atlantic/South ... 5 Midwest ... 3 West ... 2 at-large
Sabre – 9 from Northeast Region ... 7 Mid-Atlantic/South ... 4 Midwest ... 2 West ... 2 at-large
Previous NCAA West Regional Results (courtesy CF360)
2011 | 2010 | 2009
2012 NCAA FENCING WEST REGIONAL – Women's Results
(March 10; at Stanford's Arrillaga Center ... courtesy CollegeFencing360.com)
Lily McElwee (left)
WOMEN'S FOIL
1. Lily McElwee (Stanford ... Fr. ... San Francisco, CA)
... 8-0/+31 ... #1 pre-Regional seed
Rose Forcier (right)
2. Rose Forcier (UC San Diego...Jr...San Diego, CA)
... 6-2/+17 ... #5 pre-Regional seed
... placed 3rd at the 2011 West Regional
Lily McElwee (left)
3. Lydia Hill (Air Force...Fr... Arlington, MA)
... 5-3/+9 ... #6 pre-Regional seed
4. Victoria Parra (UCSD...Fr...San Diego, CA)
... 5-3/+6... #4 pre-Regional seed
5. Amrit Khalsa (UCSD...So...San Fran., CA)
... 5-3/-4 ... #7 pre-Regional seed
6. Amanda Zerbe (Stanford... So. ... San Francisco, CA)
... 4-4/+1 ...#2 pre-Regional seed
7. Christina Jung (Air Force ... Sr. ... Waynesville, MO)
... 2-6/-17 ... #9 pre-Regional seed
8. Katie Fisher (Cal Tech ... Fr. ... Chapel Hill, NC)
... 1-7/-18 ... #10 pre-Regional seed
9. Rosalyn Lim (UC San Diego ... Fr. ... Sunnyvale, CA)
... 0-8/-25 ... #8 per-Regional seed
(note: Stanford sophomore Meaghan Conway, the 2011 West Regional champ, was the #3 seed at the 2012 Regional but did not fence due to injury)
NCAA Bids –
2 auto. NCAA spots (McElwee is lock; other spot: Forcier most likely, or Parra)
Key Bouts – McElwee 5-2 vs. Forcier, 5-3 vs. Hill, 5-2 vs. Parra, 5-0 vs. Zerbe
... Forcier 4-5 vs. Hill, 5-3 vs. Parra, 5-2 vs. Zerbe
... Hill 4-5 vs. Parra, 5-2 vs. Zerbe ... Parra 4-5 vs. Zerba ... Zerbe 4-5 vs. Kalsa
Analysis – Newcomer Lily McElwee matched her #1 seed by winning the Regional ... her teammate Meaghan Conway also won the West Regional women's foil title, as a freshman in 2011 (Conway was #3 seed this season but was unable to compete due injury, per Stanford) ... another Stanford sophomore, Amanda Zerbe, was in good position to claim the Region's second spot in the NCAAs – but she placed 6th at the Regional ... the absence of Conway and Zerbe's lower finish opened the door for UCSD's Rose Forcier, who improved on her #5 seed by finishing second (key wins vs. Zerbe and UCSD teammate Victoria Parra, the #4 seed).
Rebecca Chung (left)
WOMEN'S EPEE
1. Rebecca Chung (Stanford ... Sr. ... Alexandria, VA)
... 6-1/+11 (won 5-3 fence-off) ... #4 pre-Regional seed
... 3rd in foil at 2010 West Regional, 4th in '11 foil
Ashley Titan (right)
2. Ashley Titan (Stanford ... Sr. ... Great Neck, NY)
... 6-1/+13 (lost 3-5 fence-off) ... #1 pre-Regional seed
... runner-up at 2009 and '11 West Regional, 4th in '10 (24th at 2011 NCAAs)
Ashley Titan (right)
3. Casey Gillchrist (UC San Diego... Sr. ... La Jolla, CA)
... 4-3/+8 ... #3 pre-Regional seed
... placed 7th at 2010 and '11 West Regionals
4. Natalie Chan (UC San Diego ... Fr. ... Encinitas, CA)
... 4-3/-1 ... #5 pre-Regional seed
5. Olivia Prosseda (Air Force ... So. ... Monument, CO)
... 4-3/-2 ... #2 pre-Regional seed
... placed 5th at 2011 West Regional
6. Diane Yi (UC San Diego ... Sr. ... Fontana, CA)
... 2-5/-8 ... #6 pre-Regional seed
... placed 10th at 2011 West Regional
7. Moriah Kreeger (UC San Diego ... Jr. ... Freemont, CA) ... 1-6/-10 ... #7 pre-Regional seed
8. Ingrid Fielder (Cal Tech ... Fr.) ... 1-6/-11 ... #8 pre-Regional seed
(note: #9 seed Katie Fisher of Cal Tech did not compete)
NCAA Bids – 2 automatic NCAA spots (Titan is lock; other spot: Chung most likely, or Gillchrist)
Key Bouts – Titan 0-5 vs. Chung, 5-4 vs. Gillchrist, 5-0 vs. Chan, 5-1 vs. Prosseda
... Chung 1-5 vs. Gilchrist, 5-2 vs. Chan, 5-3 vs. Prosseda
... Gilchrist 2-5 vs. Chan, 2-3 vs Prosseda ... Chan 5-3 vs. Prosseda, 4-5 vs. Kreeger
Analysis – Top seed Ashley Titan finished second in the Regional to secure her return to the NCAAs, where she is likely to be joined by teammate Rebecca Chung (who competed the previous three seasons at the West Regional in foil) ... Chung had some work to do, entering as the #4 seed, and she did just that – most notably with key wins over Titan (5-0) and #2 seed Olivia Prosseda of Air Force (5-3), before besting Titan in a 5-3 fence-off ... Prosseda ended up placing 5th, as her 3-2 defensive win over #3 seed Casey Gillchrist (UCSD) was counteracted by losses to Chung and #7 seed Moriah Kreeger of UCSD (4-5) ... UCSD Tritons veteran Gilchrist entered as the #3 seed and finished in that same spot, likely not quite enough to earn an NCAA bid ... Stanford epee All-American Francesca Bassa (8th at 2010 NCAA, 5th in '11) is taking a year off from college fencing, in her bid to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.
Julia Klepner (left)
WOMEN'S SABRE
1. Julia Klepner (Stanford ... Fr. ... Great Neck, NY) ... 6-1/+12 ... #3 pre-Reg. seed
Elissa Gesner (right)
2. Munira (Elissa) Gesner
(UC San Diego ... So. ... Sacramento, CA)
... 5-2/+11 ... #2 pre-Regional seed
... placed 3rd at 2011 West Regional
3. Lexy Stanley (UC San Diego ... Jr. ... Poway, CA)
... 5-2/+9 ... #4 pre-Regional seed
... placed 8th at West Regional in 2010, 7th in '11
Julia Klepner (left)
4. Atira Richards (Stanford...So...L.A., CA)
... 5-2/+7...#5 pre-Regional seed
... placed 5th at 2011 West Regional
5. Suraya Omar (Stanford...Sr...Oakland, CA) ... 2-7/-1 ... #6 pre-Reg. seed
... placed 7th at 2010 West Regional, 4th in '11
6. Saskia Hicks (Air Force ... Sr. ... Waterloo, Belgium)
... 2-5/-12 ... #7 pre-Regional seed... placed 7th at '10 West Reg/, 8th in '11
7. Dipti Kanthilal (UC San Diego ... Jr. ... Freemont, CA)
... 2-5/-12 ... #8 pre-Regional seed
8. Elizabeth Shimel (UC San Diego ... So. ... San Francisco, CA)
... 1-6/-14 ... #9 pre-Regional seed
(note: Air Force's Heather Nelson, the #1 seed and defending West Regional champion, did not compete)
NCAA Bids – 2 automatic NCAA spots (Klepner amd Gesner are locks)
Key Bouts – Klepner 5-3 vs. Gesner, 1-5 vs. Stanley, 5-2 vs. Richards
... Gesner 5-3 vs. Stanley, 5-2 vs. Richards, 4-5 vs. Omar ... Stanley 2-5 vs. Richards
Analysis – This competition was thrown for a loop when Air Force's Heather Nelson (the 2011 West Regional champion) was a late scratch, but things went pretty much to form after that – as #3 seed Julia Klepner (Stanford) and #2 Elissa Gesner (UCSD) claimed the top spots (locking up NCAA bids) ... #4 seed Lexy Stanley posed the biggest challenge and had a chance due to her 5-1 win over Klepner, but she lost 3-5 vs. Gesner and had a costly defeat vs. #4 seed Atira Richard of Stanford, 2-5 ... Gesner ended up edging Stanley by two touches on total-points indicator margin (both were 5-2)..