CF360 FENCERS OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE (2009-13)
University of Pennsylvania Sabre Veteran Laura Barger Named Initial 2014
CF360 National Fencer of the Week; six others among Primetime Performers
… Penn State women's epeeist Jessia Radanovich tabbed for Rookie of the Week.
RELEASE: Jan. 29, 2014 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
University of Pennsylvania sabre junior Laura Barger (Setauket, N.Y.) has been named the national fencer of the week for Jan. 6-12, 2014, as presented by CollegeFencing360.com (CF360). Barger and six others comprise the first 2014 group of CF360 Primetime Performers of the Week for college fencing. Penn State freshen women's epeeist Jessie Radanovich (Frisco, Calif.) has been selected by CF360 as the national rookie of the week.
The five fencers who round out this initial 2014 installment of College Fencing Primetime Performers include: North Carolina sabre senior Sam Austin (Dix Hills, N.Y.), Air Force sophomore women's foilist Madeleine Giradot (Atlanta, Ga.), Columbia freshman men's foilist Drew Johnston (Whitehouse Station, N.J.), Stanford sophomore women's epeeist Vivian Kong (Hong Kong) and Northwestern sabre freshman Cindy Oh (Allendale, N.J.).
Notes for each honoree are included below, as are action photos (head shots in right-sidebar). 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 week).
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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.
College Fencing 2014 Primetime Performers of the Week #1
(Jan. 6-12, 2014 ... presented by CollegeFencing360.com)
Sam Austin (North Carolina ... Men’s Sabre ... Sr. ... Dix Hills, NY)
* Laura Barger (Univ. of Pennsylvania … Women's Sabre … Jr. … Setauket, NY)
Madeleine Giradot (Air Force ... Women’s Foil ... So. ... Atlanta, GA)
Drew Johnston (Columbia ... Men’s Foil ... Fr. ... Whitehouse Station, NJ)
Vivian Kong (Stanford ... Women’s Epee ... So. ... Hong Kong)
Cindy Oh (Northwestern ... Women’s Sabre ... Fr. ... Allendale, NJ)
* Jessie Radanovich (Penn State ... Women’s Epee ... Fr. ... Frisco, CA)
* – Barger is the CF360 National Fencer of the Week and Radanovic the Rookie of the Week
all photos courtesy of the respective schools
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SAM AUSTIN
(North Carolina ... Men’s Sabre ... Sr. ... Dix Hills, NY)
Veteran leader of sabre squad and 2013 NCAA qualifier, after placing 10th among talented and deep field at the Northeast Regional … went 12-3 (+41 in point-differential indicators) at Penn State Invitational in mid-Jan., highlighted by sweeps of the sabre trios from both PSU and the University of Pennsylvania (plus a win against the sabre group from the nation's eventual No. 1 men's team, Columbia) … his sweep of current #8 Penn included a 5-1 win over veteran Sean Turner and a 5-3 victory over 2013 NCAA runner-up Shaul Gordon in the round's final bout (the rest of the UNC sabre team went 1-5 vs. the Quakers) … his three wins helped provide the margin of victory (15-12) in the upset of Penn … won all three of his bouts vs. current #2 Penn State by 5-3 margins, including first win vs. highly-rated newcomer Adam Lewicki and the round's final bout vs. three-time All-American Adrian Bak, a 2013 NCAA semifinalist (the other UNC sabre fencers were 1-5 vs. PSU) … posted 5-2 win over Columbia's Rienzi Gokea … ended up a handful of touches away from a 15-0 day, as both of his losses came 3-5 vs. Columbia (vs. senior Melvin Rodriguez and highly-touted freshman Chris Ahn) … allowed only one touch in six total bouts vs. Haverford and Drew … product of Commack High School.
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LAURA BARGER
(U. of Pennsylvania … Women's Sabre … Jr. … Setauket, NY)
Emerging sabre fencer who won nine of her 11 bouts at the Penn State Invitational in mid-Jan., including sweeps vs. current #9 Temple and Duke plus a couple wins over the current #4-ranked host team (as Quakers women completed 5-0 day) … in team's 17-10 win over Temple, her three wins over the Owls' veteran sabre trio (all 2013 NCAA Regional entrants) – 5-3 vs. Tasia Ford and Tiki Kastor, 5-4 vs. Petra Khan – were all the more noteworthy later in the month, when Temple's sabre squad rolled through the Philadelphia Invitational (winning 45 of its 54 bouts) … Kastor narrowly missed All-America honors at the 2013 NCAAs (14th, after a 5th-place Regional finish) … Barger's sweep of Duke included a 5-1 bout vs. veteran Kodia Baye-Cigna (a three-time Regional qualifier) … posted 5-3 win over Penn State grad. student Heather Nelson (a 2-time NCAA qualifier while at Air Force), adding 5-4 win over PSU's Elizabeth Rapp to help Quakers upset the host Nittany Lions, 14-13 … one of her two losses came 3-5 vs. 2013 NCAA semifinalist Gillian Litynski of North Carolina … product of Ward Melville High School.
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MADELEINE GIRADOT
(Air Force ... Women’s Foil ... So. ... Atlanta, GA)
Second-year foilist who could find herself in the running for a spot in the 2014 NCAA field, after placing third in the 2013 NCAA West Regional (behind Air Force classmate Mary McElwee and McElwee's older sister Lily, who fences at Stanford) … won all 15 of her bouts at the Western Invitational in mid-Jan. (held at Stanford), racking up a +104 in total-point indicators (only 16 touches allowed spanning the 15 bouts) … seven of her wins were 5-0, along with five 5-1 bouts (only two 5-4s) … won her first two bouts vs. tournament champion and current #7 Northwestern by 5-1 counts, vs. veterans Mikela Goldstein and Charlotte Sands … finished her sweep of the Wildcats with 5-4 win over Jen Yamin (the rest of the Air Force women's fencers were 1-23 vs. Northwestern) … allowed one touch against host Stanford (one bout won by default) while finishing with a 15-5 margin in her three bouts against UC San Diego … product of Henry W. Grady High School.
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DREW JOHNSTON
(Columbia ... Men’s Foil ... Fr. ... Whitehouse Station, NJ)
Talented newcomer who could be emerging as Columbia's No. 2 men's foilist … his 10-2 day (+32 in total-point indicators) at the Penn State Invitational helped Columbia men go 5-0 to ultimately secure the nation's No. 1 ranking … posted 5-3 win over Howie Chan to help beat the host and current #2-ranked Nittany Lions, 15-12 … swept his three bouts in two other notable wins, over Duke (16-11) and North Carolina (20-7) … did not allow a touch in five bouts vs. Haverford and Drew (one won by default) … combined with veterans Adam Mathieu (11-4) and Harry Bergman (10-5) to form quality foil trio during the bouting at Penn State … product of Hunterdon Central High School.
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VIVIAN KONG
(Stanford ... Women’s Epee ... So. ... Hong Kong)
2013 NCAA semifinalist who went 16-2 in mid-January home bouts, with her only losses coming against Northwestern veterans Courtney Dumas (2012 NCAA entrant) and Dina Bazarbayeva (two-time All-American) … racked up a +59 indicators (total-points differential) in her 18 bouts, including five 5-0 wins and five by 5-1 scores (her other six wins were 5-2) … allowed more than two touches in only two bouts, including the 5-4 loss to Dumas in the Friday-night meet vs. Northwestern (when she beat Bazarbayeva and Juliana Barrett, both 5-2) … went 14-1 the next day in the Western Invitational, with all three of her bouts vs. current #7 Northwestern ending 5-2 (wins over Dumas and Mandeep Bhinder; loss to Bazarbayeva) … finished 4-2 in her bouts vs. Northwestern (the rest of the Cardinal women were 14-34 against the Wildcats).
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CINDY OH (Northwestern ... Women’s Sabre ... Fr. ... Allendale, NJ)
action photo currently not available (will add later)
Key member of young Wildcats sabre squad that must replace departed NCAA tournament veterans Chloe Grainger and Alicia Gurrieri … won 10 of her 11 bouts during mid-January trip to the Bay Area, as Northwestern won Friday-night matchup vs. host Stanford (17-10) before wining the six-team Western Invitational the next day (5-0) … won her first two bouts against Stanford (5-2 vs. Alexa Rohan and 5-2 vs. 2013 NCAA entrant Avery Youngblood) before suffering what would be her only loss of the weekend, 3-5 vs. Stephanie Wang … swept the Cardinal the next day in team's 18-9 win (5-4 vs. Youngblood, 5-2 vs. Rohan, 5-3 vs. Wang) … won all five of her other bouts, including matchups vs. West Regional teams UC San Diego, Air Force and Cal Tech … product of the Bergen Fencing Club and Northern Highlands High School.
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JESSIE RADANOVICH (Penn State ... Women’s Epee ... Fr. ... Frisco, CA)
action photo currently not available (will add later)
Victorious in all 15 of her bouts at the Penn State Invitational (Jan. 12), as Nittany Lions women's epee team continued to adjust to competing without four-time NCAA semifinalist Marg Guzzi (2010 NCAA champion) … won seven one-touch bouts, including five that went to overtime/priority … her three wins were not enough to avert one-point loss to in-state rival and current #8 U-Penn (13-14; rest of PSU team was 10-14) … beat Penn 2013 Regional entrant Srey Beaulac (5-1) while also besting the Quakers pair of highly-regarded newcomers, Maria Trumble (5-3) and Aleina Edwards (4-3) … her sweep in team's dominant 20-7 win over eventual #9 Temple included 4-3 win over 2013 Regional entrant and 2011 NCAA qualifier Chantal Montrose … had another overtime win vs. Temple, 3-2 vs. 2013 Regional entrant Jessie Hall, while adding 5-3 win over Rachael Clark (who then went 12-0 at the Philadelphia Invitational two weeks later) … her sweep vs. current #6 Columbia (17-10 team win) included easy 5-1 win over 2-time NCAA entrant Diane Tsinis, plus wins over a pair of fellow top freshmen (3-2 vs. Mason Speta, 5-3 vs. Vivian Rand) … helped post 17-10 win over Duke, with her sweep including wins over NCAA Regional veterans Mary Ting (4-3) and Isabella Barna (5-2) … allowed only four touches in her sweep of North Carolina (18-9 team win) … product of the FFA and LIAFC club programs and a graduate of Hallmark Charter High School.