Team Rankings

COLLEGE FENCING 360.com

(rankings updated below, as of March 20, 2013 – final for 2013 season)

CF360 is the official home for the national college fencing poll and in 2013 is serving as both the sponsor and administrator of the poll. The official name of the rankings is the CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll. The first poll of 2013 was released on Jan. 22 and for the first time the poll has expanded to four total releases, with the second announced in early February (Feb. 6), the third on March 5 and the final poll on March 20, 2013. The third 2013 poll was released a week later than scheduled due to the Ivy League Championsips storm-induced delay. An assortment of archived polls from previous years and historical notes on the fencing coaches poll are included below (to be expanded in the future) ... scroll down for polls in reverse chronological order (polls later will be re-formatted via list of links).

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CF360 FENCING COACHES POLL #4: March 20, 2013 Contact: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

Men – Penn State, Notre Dame, Princeton, Harvard, St. John's, Ohio State, Columbia, Penn, Stanford & Duke
Women – Notre Dame, Princeton, Columbia, Ohio State, St. John's, Penn State, Harvard, Northwestern, Temple & Duke
(scroll down for full release & complete rankings, including all others receiving votes … )

The final CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Polls for the 2013 season have been released, with several teams changing spots in the men's top-10 while the women had one change at the bottom of the top-10. The PENN STATE men – led by the elite foil duo of Miles Chamley-Watson and David Willette, plus a quality sabre duo in junior All-American Adrian Bak and talented freshman Shaul Gordon (the 2013 Northeast Regional champion) – still sit atop the rankings but slipped a bit from their unanimous status in the previous poll. The Notre Dame men closed the voting margin by 10 points but still ended up 10 points behind Penn State (145-135) in the final poll. The Irish sport thru own dynamic duo in foil, as two-time Olympian Gerek Meinhardt won the 2010 NCAA title while ND teammate Ariel DeSmet bested Chamley-Watson to win the NCAA foil competition as a freshman in 2011.

The final women's ballots produced a near-dead heat for the top position, with NOTRE DAME holding onto the No. 1 spot by a single point ahead of preseason favorite Princeton (145-144). The Irish women feature a pair of 2012 U.S. Olympians – 5th-year epeeist Courtney Hurley (who all compete at the NCAAs in her hometown of San Antonio) and freshman foilist Lee Kiefer – while the Princeton women boast tremendous depth at all three weapons, including saber sisters Eliza and Gracie Stone along with veteran epeeist Susannah Scanlan (who teamed with Hurley on the U.S. women's epee team that claimed bronze at the 2012 Olympics).

The Notre Dame women received six of the 10 first-place votes, with the other four going to Princeton. In the men's balloting, seven No. 1 votes were cast for Penn State, two for Notre Dame and one for Princeton.

Notre Dame remained the only fencing program with both of its squads ranked among the top-2 but Princeton now boasts the No. 2-raned women and the 3rd-ranked men (St. John's is fifth in both the men's and women's polls). Combined voting points (men + women) for the top teams break down as follows: Notre Dame 280, Princeton 266, Penn State 247, Ohio State 227, St. John's 220, Columbia 214 and Harvard 203. Notre ams and Princeton are the only teams that received the maximum 12 qualifiers for the 2013 NCAA Men's and Women's Combined Fencing Championship (March 21-24, at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio) while the five other teams mentioned above (plus Stanford) have 11 NAA entrants.

The change in the men's top-5 saw Princeton move up from fifth to third, while Harvard now is fourth and St. John's fifth (those teams were tied for third in the previous poll). Current No. 9 and 10th-place team Duke swapped places from the previous men's pool. The only change in the women's top-10 came at the final spot, with Duke bumping up a spot and Penn dropping outside the top-10.

The CF360 voting panel consists of 10 coaches spread across college fencing’s four regions, weighted in relation to the number of competing schools from each region. Accordingly, there are four coaches from the large Northeast Region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South, two from the Midwest and one from the four-school West Region. Each voter submits a ballot listing a top-15 for both the men and women, with teams listed first receiving 15 points, etc. (for a maximum of 150 voting points).

(CollegeFencing360.com, now in its fifth full season of operation, provides an assortment of exclusive content to the fencing community. CF360 is part of CollegeSports360, LLC – a network of college athletics sites that includes affiliates CollegeBaseball360.com, CollegeSoccer360.com, CollegeSoftball360.com and hub site CollegeSports360.com).

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Poll #4 – Final (March 20, 2013)

MEN (first-place votes – PSU 7, ND 2, PRIN 1)
(school – voting points ... previous polls 3/5 ... 2/6 | initial poll 1/22)
1. Penn State – 145 voting points … (1) ... (1) | (2)
2. Notre Dame – 135 … (2) … (2) | (3)
3. Princeton – 122 … (5) … (3) | (4)
4. Harvard – 115 … (t3) … (7) | (6)
5. St. John’s – 112 … (t3) … (5) | (5)
6. Ohio State – 108 … (6) … (4) | (1)
7. Columbia – 93 … (7) … (6) | (7)
8. Pennsylvania – 79 … (8) … (8) | (8)
9. Stanford – 66 … (10) ... (9) | (10)
10. Duke – 50 … (9) ... (10) | (9)
Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – Sacred Heart 37, Brown 29, Yale 28, North Carolina 23, Air Force 15,
UC San Diego 11, Wayne State 11, NYU 10, Brandeis 7, Johns Hopkins 3 and MIT 1.

WOMEN (first-place votes – ND 6, PRIN 4)
(school – voting points ... previous polls 3/5 ... 2/6 | initial poll 1/22)
1. Notre Dame – 145 voting points … (1) ... (1) | (2)
2. Princeton – 144 … (2) ... (2) | (1)
3. Columbia – 121 … (3) ... (3) | (3)
4. Ohio State – 119 … (4) ... (4) | (4)
5. St. John’s – 108 … (5 ... (6) | (6)
6. Penn State – 102 … (6) ... (5) | (5)
7. Harvard – 88 … (7) ... (8) | (8)
8. Northwestern – 81 … (8) ... (7) | (7)
9. Temple – 69 … (9) ... (9) | (9)
10. Duke – 54 … (11) ... (11) | (11)
10. Pennsylvania – 43 … (10) ... (10) | (10)
Also Receiving Votes – Pennsylvania 43 (10th in all previous polls), Stanford 43, Cornell 30, Brown 22, Wayne State 12, NYU 5, Yale 5, North Carolina 3, MIT 2, Sacred Heart 2, Air Force 1 and Stevens Tech 1.

Please note that only the respective top-10 teams should be referenced as nationally ranked (others should be referenced as "receiving the xth-most votes").

Voting Panel – Michael Aufrichtig (Columbia), Alex Beguinet (Duke; men's poll only), Janusz Bednarski (Notre Dame), Zoltan Dudas (Princeton), Sydney Fadner (Boston College), Nikki Franke (Temple; votes on women's poll only),
Emmanuil Kaidanov (Penn State), Josh Runyan (UC San Diego), Laurie Schiller (Northwestern), Bill Shipman (Brandeis) and Tom Vrabel (Sacred Heart).

Notes: coach Beguinet votes only on the men's poll and coach Franke votes only on the women’s poll; there are 10 voters for each poll – four from the Northeast region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South, two from the Midwest and one from the West; the amount of voters per region (4-3-2-1) is in approximate ratio to the amount of schools in each region that sponsor varsity fencing – 18 in the Northeast, 13 in the Mid-Atlantic/South, 7 in the Midwest and 4 in the West ... seven of these schools sponsor only a varsity women's fencing team: CCNY, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Northwestern, Queens, Temple, Tufts and Wellesley.

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CF360 FENCING COACHES POLL #3: March 5, 2013 Contact: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

Men – Penn State, Notre Dame, Harvard/St. John's, Princeton, Ohio State, ,Columbia, Penn, Duke & Stanford
Women – Notre Dame, Princeton, Columbia, Ohio State, St. John's, Penn State, Harvard, Northwestern, Temple & Penn
(scroll down for full release & complete rankings, including all others receiving votes … )

The top teams in the respective CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Polls remain unchanged, with movement elsewhere in the top-10. The PENN STATE men – led by the elite foil duo of Miles Chamley-Watson and David Willette – now are a unanimous No. 1, after opening second in the initial 2013 poll (Jan. 22) and rising to the top spot in the season's second polling (early Feb.). The NOTRE DAME women – featuring a pair of 2012 U.S. Olympians (a distinction Chamley-Watson also holds) in 5th-year senior epeeist Courtney Hurley and freshman foilist Lee Kiefer – similarly remain in the top spot, after opening at No. 2 in the initial poll. The Irish women received seven of the 10 first-place votes and hold a relatively slim 147-142 margin over No. 2 Princeton (which was No. 1 in the first 2013 CF360 Coaches Poll).

Notre Dame remains the only fencing program with both of its squads ranked among the top-2. In fact, no other teams are among the top-4 in both polls (Princeton and St. John's each are top-5 in both the men's and women's polls). Combined voting points (men + women) for the top teams break down as follows: Notre Dame 277, Princeton 255, Penn State 247, Ohio State and St. John's 223, Columbia 214 and Harvard 204.

The biggest change in either poll has seen the Harvard men rise from seventh into a tie for third with St. John's (which moved up from fifth). The Crimson men had some subpar results earlier in the season but recently lived up to their tremendous talent base by winning the Ivy League Round-Robin Championships. The Notre Dame men remain in the No. 2 spot, while Princeton dropped from 3rd to 5th and Ohio State from 4th to 6th.

The Columbia men slid back one spot to 7th while the University of Pennsylvania remains 8th. The Duke men (now 9th) and (10) Stanford flipped spots from the previous poll and are separated by only one voting point – as are Columbia and Penn. The Quakers lost the Ivy League title to Harvard on their final bout at the two-day event, in foil vs. the Crimson (Harvard's Jerry Chang edged his brother, Penn's Jason Chang, in a 5-4 thriller).

In the women's poll, Columbia (led by a talented foil group) has held the No. 3 spot throughout all three polls, while the Ohio State women similarly have been entrenched in the 4th spot. The St. John's women – led by 2012 NCAA foil champion Evgeniya Kirpicheva – have bumped up to the No. 5 position, swapping places with a (6) Penn State team that also features a former NCAA champion (epeeist Marg Guzzi, who won the NCAAs as a freshman back in 2010). There was a similar flip of spots between current No. 7 Harvard and (8) Northwestern, while (9) Temple and (10) Penn again round out the women's top-10.

The Duke women (despite fencing this season without the graduated three-time NCAA omen's saber champion Becca Ward) narrowly missed cracking the top-10, sitting one point behind Penn. Accordingly, the composition of the top-10 in each poll has remain unchanged throughout the three 2013 polls (same teams, with some different ordering).

The CF360 voting panel currently consists of 10 coaches spread across college fencing’s four regions, weighted in relation to the number of competing schools from each region. Accordingly, there are four coaches from the large Northeast Region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South, two from the Midwest and one from the four-school West Region. Each voter submits a ballot listing a top-15 for both the men and women, with teams listed first receiving 15 points, etc. (for a maximum of 150 voting points).

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Poll #3 (March 5, 2013)

MEN (first-place votes – PSU 10)
(school – voting points ... previous poll, 2/6 | initial poll 1/22)
1. Penn State – 150 voting points … (1) | (2)
2. Notre Dame – 130 … (2) | (3)
t3. Harvard – 117 … (7) | (6)
t3. St. John’s – 117 … (5) | (5)
5. Princeton – 113 … (3) | (4)
6. Ohio State – 110 … (4) | (1)
7. Columbia – 91 … (6) | (7)
8. Pennsylvania – 90 … (8) | (8)
9. Duke – 61 … (10) | (9)
10. Stanford – 60 … (9) | (10)
Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – Sacred Heart 49, Yale 30, Brown 26, North Carolina 14, Air Force 13,
UC San Diego 11, Brandeis 9, Johns Hopkins 6, MIT 2 and Stevens Tech 1.

Women (school – voting points ... previous poll, 2/6 | initial poll 1/22)
(first-place votes – ND 7, PRIN 3)
1. Notre Dame – 147 voting points … (1) | (2)
2. Princeton – 142 … (2) | (1)
3. Columbia – 123 … (3) | (3)
4. Ohio State – 113 … (4) | (4)
5. St. John’s – 110 … (6) | (6)
6. Penn State – 97 … (5) | (5)
7. Harvard – 87 … (8) | (8)
8. Northwestern – 85 … (7) | (7)
9. Temple – 78 … (9) | (9)
10. Pennsylvania – 53 … (10) | (10)
Also Receiving Votes – Duke 52, Cornell 36, Brown 27, Stanford 25, Sacred Heart 8, North Carolina 4, Wayne State 4,
UC San Diego 3, Yale 3, Air Force 2 and Stevens Tech 1.

Please note that only the respective top-10 teams should be referenced as nationally ranked (others should be referenced as "receiving the xth-most votes").

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CF360 FENCING COACHES POLL #2: Feb. 6, 2013 Contact: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

Men – Penn State, Notre Dame, Princeton, Ohio State, St. John's, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Duke & Stanford
Women – Notre Dame, Princeton, Columbia, Ohio State, Penn State, St. John's, Northwestern, Harvard, Temple & Penn
(scroll down for full release & complete rankings, including all others receiving votes … )

The Penn State men and the Notre Dame women have moved atop their respective rankings, in the latest update to the CollegeFencing360 Fencing Coaches Polls, released today (Feb. 6) following two weeks of top tournament action and in advance of the annual Ivy League Championships (to be held this year at Harvard, on Feb. 9-10). The Notre Dame women hold a slight edge over the previous No. 1. Princeton, while the Penn State men along with current No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Princeton have moved ahead of previous No. 1 Ohio State (now in the 4th position). The initial 2013 CF360 Coaches Poll was released on Jan. 22.

The Penn State men – despite competing without two of the team's top fencers (Miles Chamley-Watson and David Willette, both members of the U.S. men's foil team that won the Paris World Cup on Jan. 27) – went 5-0 at the St. John's Invitational on Jan. 26, while facing an elite series of opponents that included Notre Dame (19-8), Ohio State (17-10), the host Red Storm (15-12), Columbia (16-11) and Harvard (18-9).

The Notre Dame women have fashioned a 17-1 record over the past two weeks, in tournament action at St. John's, NYU and Northwestern – highlighted by victories over Princeton (14-13), Columbia (21-6), Ohio State twice (14-13; 16-11), Penn State (17-10), St. John's twice (14-13; 14-13), Northwestern (19-8), Harvard (14-13) and Temple (18-9). The only loss for the Irish women during that stretch came vs. Columbia (13-14), at the NYU Duals on Jan. 27.

Six of the 10 coaches on the CF360 voting panel listed the Notre Dame women No. 1, while Princeton received two outright No. 1 votes and Penn State was listed first on one ballot. One voter in the women's poll had a split vote for No. 1, between Notre Dame and Princeton (split votes are allowed only for the top position). Notre Dame's margin over Princeton atop the current women's poll is 144.5 voting points to 136.5.

The remaining spots in the women's top-10 remain unchanged from the initial rankings two weeks ago (listed 3rd-10th): Columbia, Ohio State, Penn State, St. John's, Northwestern, Harvard, Temple and Pennsylvania.

Aside from the aforementioned shifts at the top of the men's poll (Ohio State dropped from No.1 to No. 4, while current 1-2-3 Penn State, Notre Dame and Princeton each moved up one spot), there were two other minor changes among the top-10. Columbia moved ahead of Harvard from seventh to No. 6, while Stanford similarly nudged ahead of Duke, from 10th to No. 9. The St. John's men remain fifth and Pennsylvania still holds the No. 8 position.

The Penn State men are a clear No. 1, receiving eight No. 1 votes and 146 total voting points (out of 150 maximum). The 2-3-4 teams are tightly bunched: Notre Dame 127, Princeton 125 and Ohio State 122 (ND and OSU each received one first-place vote).

The Ohio State men feature several returners from the squad that combined with the OSU women to win the 2012 NCAA title, namely foilists Zain Shaito and Chris Colley, epeeists Marco Canevari and Kristian Boyadzhiev, and sabre veteran Max Stearns. With Stearns being the only true men's sabre fencer who has has competed for OSU over the past few weeks, the Buckeyes have resorted to using a pair of converted foilists over the course of tournament action at St. John's, NYU and Northwestern.

During the past two weeks, the Ohio State men compiled a 12-5 record that included top-10 wins over Notre Dame, St. John's, Columbia, Harvard and Stanford along with losses to Penn State (10-17), Notre Dame (11-16), Princeton (13-14), St. John's (13-14) and Columbia (10-17).

The CF360 voting panel currently consists of 10 coaches spread across college fencing’s four regions, weighted in relation to the number of competing schools from each region. Accordingly, there now are four coaches from the large Northeast Region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South, two from the Midwest and one from the four-school West Region. Each voter submits a ballot listing a top-15 for both the men and women, with teams listed first receiving 15 points, etc. (for a maximum of 150 voting points).

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Poll #2 (Feb. 6, 2013)

MEN (first-place votes – PSU 8, ND 1, OSU 1)
(school – voting points ... previous poll)
1. Penn State – 146 voting points … (2)
2. Notre Dame – 127 … (3)
3. Princeton – 125 … (4)
4. Ohio State – 122 … (1)
5. St. John’s – 116 … (5)
6. Columbia – 110 … (7)
7. Harvard – 91 … (6)
8. Pennsylvania – 71 … (8)
9. Stanford – 58 … (10)
10. Duke – 56 … (9)
Also Receiving Votes – Brown 48, Sacred Heart 40, Yale 29, Air Force 16, UC San Diego 14, North Carolina 12, MIT 8, Johns Hopkins 7, NYU 2 and Brandeis 2.

Women (school – voting points ... previous poll)
(first-place votes – ND 6.5, PRIN 2.5, PSU 1)
1. Notre Dame – 144.5 voting points … (2)
2. Princeton – 136.5 … (1)
3. Columbia – 127 … (3)
4. Ohio State – 120 … (4)
5. Penn State – 112 … (5)
6. St. John’s – 102 … (6)
7. Northwestern – 82 … (7)
8. Harvard – 80 … (8)
9. Temple – 79 … (9)
10. Pennsylvania – 59 … (10)
Also Receiving Votes – Duke 45, Cornell 28, Brown 25, Stanford 23, North Carolina 10, Sacred Heart 6,
UC San Diego 5, NYU 5, MIT 2, Boston College 1, Stevens Tech 1 and Yale 1.

Notes: coach Beguinet votes only on the men's poll and coach Franke votes only on the women’s poll; there are 10 voters for each poll – four from the Northeast region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South, two from the Midwest and one from the West; the amount of voters per region (4-3-2-1) now is in approximate ratio to the amount of schools in each region that sponsor varsity fencing – 18 in the Northeast, 13 in the Mid-Atlantic/South, 7 in the Midwest and 4 in the West ... seven of these schools sponsor only a varsity women's fencing team: CCNY, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Northwestern, Queens, Temple, Tufts and Wellesley).

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CF360 FENCING COACHES POLL #1: Jan. 22, 2013 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

Men – Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Princeton, St. John's, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Duke & Stanford
Women – Princeton, Notre Dame, Columbia, Ohio State, Penn State, St. John's, Northwestern, Harvard, Temple & Penn
(scroll down for full release & complete rankings/w. others rec. votes, plus details & notes on top teams … )

The Ohio State men’s fencing team and Princeton women’s squad hold the top spots in the first edition of the CollegeFencing360 Fencing Coaches Poll, released today (Jan. 22) in advance of the annual late-January big weekend of competition. The weekend slate includes several events that historically both validate and shake up the rankings, with dual-meet tournaments to be contested at St. John’s (Jan. 26), Temple (Jan. 26), NYU (Jan. 27) and Brown (Jan. 26; NFC #2). Ten of the 12 teams ranked among the top-10 of either poll (all but Princeton and Stanford) will be in action at St. John’s, NYU or Temple (due to the university’s unique academic calendar, Princeton is unable to compete during January).

(CollegeFencing360.com, entering its fifth full season of operation, provides an assortment of exclusive content to the fencing community. CF360 is part of CollegeSports360, LLC – a network of college athletics sites that includes affiliates CollegeBaseball360.com, CollegeSoccer360.com, CollegeSoftball360.com and hub site CollegeSports360.com).

The Ohio State men’s squad – which helped OSU claim the 2012 NCAA Combined Fencing Championship – narrowly edged perennial title contender Penn State atop the first CF360 coaches poll, with 123 total voting points to PSU’s 121. The nine-member voting panel for the men’s rankings submit a top-15 ranking, with the No. 1 teams on each ballot receiving 15 points, etc. (max. 135). The Notre Dame men are ranked third (116), followed by Princeton (108), St. John’s (105), Harvard (96), Columbia (83), Pennsylvania (75), Duke (60) and Stanford (49) to round out the top-10.

The Ohio State men received five of the nine first-place votes, while Penn State was listed first on three ballots and St. John’s on one.

The Princeton women were a clear No. 1 in the initial CF360 coaches poll, garnering 147 of the maximum 150 points (with eight first-place votes). The Notre Dame women check in at second (121; two first-place), followed by Columbia (121), Ohio State (120), Penn State (111), St. John’s (105), Northwestern (88), Harvard (85), Temple (67) and Pennsylvania (60).

(Note that the CF360 men’s ranking include only nine voters, as Temple coach Nikki Franke submits rankings for only the women’s poll).

Princeton (255) narrowly edged Notre Dame (253) for the most combined votes from the two rankings, followed by Ohio State (243) and Penn State (232). Notre Dame (men 3rd, women 2nd) is the only school with both of its fencing teams listed among the top-3 of the respective CF360 rankings, while Princeton, Ohio State and Penn State all have both of their squads somewhere among the top-4.

See bottom of this release for the complete rankings, including all teams receiving votes in the initial CF360 coaches polls. Brief notes follow below, with an expanded look at the top teams forthcoming on CF360 in advance of the key tournaments this weekend (in addition to a recap of key events from the past few months).

The 2013 college fencing season will feature the return of several 2012 Olympic competitors who did not participate with their collegiate teams during the 2012 spring season. That group includes nine members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team: Notre Dame men’s foilist Gerek Meinhardt, women’s epeeist Courtney Hurley and women’s foil newcomer Lee Kiefer (plus men’s foilist Ariel DeSmet, who took off a year for his own Olympic bid) ... Penn State foilists Miles Chamley-Watson (U.S. team member) and David Willette (U.S. candidate) ... St. John’s men’s sabre standout Daryl Homer, Columbia women’s foilist Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Princeton women’s epeeist Susannah Scanlan and Stanford men’s foil newcomer Alex Massialas (club teammate of ND’s Meinhardt in their native San Francisco).

Four of the fencers listed above already have won NCAA individual titles: Meinhardt (2010; ’09 runner-up), Hurley (2011), DeSmet (2012) and Homer (2010 & ’11; ’09 runner-up). Willette was the 2010 NCAA runner-up. Hurley and Scanlan were members of the 2012 Olympic bronze-medal women’s epee team.

The OHIO STATE MEN return all six of the fencers who contributed to the 2012 NCAA title, most notably: junior foilist Zain Shaito (Garland, Texas), the 2012 NCAA champion, and fifth-year sabre standout Max Stearns (Winnipeg, Manitoba), a three-time NCAA entrant who advanced to the 2012 NCAA semifinals. The squad also features a pair of epeeists who reached the 2012 NCAA semifinals – senior Marco Canevari (Milano, Italy), a three-time NCAA qualifier who also was a semifinalist in 2011, and junior Kristian Boyadzhiev (Sofia, Bulgaria). OSU’s other returners from the 2012 NCAA contingent include junior sabre two-time All-American Rhys Douglas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and sophomore foilist Chris Colley (Portland, Ore.).

The OHIO STATE WOMEN return four of the six 2012 NCAA competitors – led by the defending NCAA epee champion in senior Katarzyna Dabrowa (Wroclaw, Poland; also was 2011 semifinalist) and sophomore foilist Mona Shaito, the younger sister of Zain and a 2012 NCAA semifinalist. Senior sabre leader and Chicago native Allison Miller is a three-time NCAA entrant (11th in 2012 for All-America honors) while junior epeeist Carolina Piasecka (Oslo, Norway) has fenced in the NCAAs twice and placed ninth in 2012 for All-America status.

Ohio State would be a clear favorite to repeat if not for the departure of four-year sabre standout Margarita “Maggie” Tschomakova (7th at 2012 NCAAs) and graduated foilist Allison Henvick, a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American (also 15th in ’12).

The PRINCETON WOMEN once again feature an impressive lineup that often can go three, four (or more) fencers deep at each weapon. Top returners from the 2012 NCAA qualifiers include: senior sabre sensation and Chicago native Eliza Stone (three-time NCAA entrant; 2011 runner-up and ’12 semifinalist); sophomore epeeist and 2012 NCAA runner-up Kat Holmes (Washington, D.C.); and two-time foil All-American Eve Levin (New York City), the 2011 NCAA runner-up. Princeton’s ridiculous depth at women’s epee also includes: senior two-time All-American Hannah Safford (San Francisco; 7th at ’12 NCAAs), senior two-time NCAA entrant Phoebe Caldwell (Indian Springs, Ala.), a pair of talented freshmen in Isabel Ford (Portland, Ore.) and Anna Van Brummen (Houston) – and even veteran returner Susannah Scanlan (St. Paul, Minn.), a member of the U.S. squad that claimed bronze at the 2012 Olympics. Scanlan, an All-American following top NCAA finishes in 2009 (5th) and ’10 (7th), is set to rejoin the Princeton program when classes resume in early February.

Princeton’s lineup is equally deep at women’s foil, with Levin joined by three fellow All-Americans: sophomore Ambika Singh (Skillman, N.J.; 10th at ’12 NCAAs), senior Brianna Martin (Short Hills, NJ; 6th at ’10 NCAAs) and junior Hyun-Kyung Yuh (Scarsdale, N.Y.; 6th at ’11 NCAAs). The sabre squad also includes junior two-time NCAA entrant Diamond Wheeler (Portland, Ore.; All-America/10th at ’11 NCAAs) and senior Joanna Cichomski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.; ’10 NCAA entrant) – plus impressive newcomers Gracie Stone (Eliza’s younger sister) and Desirae Major (Olathe, Kan.).

The PRINCETON MEN graduated seven foilists from their 2012 squad, most notably four-year standout and 2012 NCAA semifinalist Alex Mills. Senior foilist Robert Malcolm (Park City, Utah) returns after a 22nd-place finish at the ’11 NCAAs (the departed Marcus Howard was 20th in the 2012 NCAA men’s foil competition). Newcomers Michael Dudey (Bellaire, Texas) and Dallas native Rodney Chen are expected to pick up the slack due to the graduation loss of Mills. The Tigers feature an elite senior duo at men’s epee – in Jonathan Yergler (Winter Park, Fla.), a three-time NCAA entrant who was the 2011 NCAA runner-up before winning in ’12, and Edward Kelley (San Antonio, Texas), who placed eighth at the 2012 NCAAs. Both 2012 NCAA sabre entrants return, led by junior All-American and 2012 NCAA semifinalist Philip Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.). Junior Robert Stone – brother to Eliza and Gracie – qualified for the 2012 NCAAs but finished 22nd.

The NOTRE DAME WOMEN are buoyed by the return of two elite epeeists who took a year off from college fencing during their 2012 Olympic bids – fifth-year senior Courtney Hurley (San Antonio) and fellow veteran Ewa Nelip (Katowice, Poland), who was granted a sixth year of eligibility after taking off the 2010 and 2012 college seasons due to training with the Olympic national-team program. Hurley – the 2011 NCAA champion, after reaching the semifinals in ’09 and ’10 – was a teammate of Princeton’s Scanlan on the U.S. bronze medal-winning team at the 2012 Olympics. Nelip also is a two-time NCAA semifinalist (’08, ’09) and added another All-America finish (9th) as a member of Notre Dame’s 2011 NCAA championship team.

Notre Dame’s lineup includes another 2012 women’s Olympian, as freshman foilist Lee Kiefer (Versailles, Ky.) impressively reached the quarterfinals of the the 2012 Olympic Games (her sister Alex won the 2011 NCAA women’s foil title, as a freshman at Harvard). In addition to Hurley and Nelip, five other returning ND women’s fencers have received All-America honors: senior sabre leader Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.; 9th in ’11, 8th in ’12), sophomore epeeist Ashley Severson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.; 5th in ’12), senior foilist Grace Hartman (St. Paul, Minn.; 5th in ’12), sophomore foilist Madison Zeiss (Los Angeles; 8th in ’12) and sophomore epeeist Nicole Ameli (Las Vegas; 11th in ’12). Two others have NCAA tournament experience, as junior foilist Rachel Beck (Tucson, Ariz.) was a member of the 2011 NCAA title team (she placed 17th) and senior sabre fencer Abi Nichols placed 15th at the 2012 NCAAs.

The NOTRE DAME MEN have a similar infusion of returning Olympic-level talent, as foil standout Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco) is returning from his second tour as a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Meinhardt was the NCAA runner-up as a freshman in 2009 before winning the NCAA title in 2010. An ND fencer also won the NCAA men’s foil title in 2011, with current junior Ariel DeSmet (Troutdale, Ore.) claiming that title (DeSmet did not fence collegiately in 2012 while pursuing a spot in the Olympic team). The team’s other top returner is three-time NCAA epee entrant James Kaull (Washington, D.C.), who posted All-America finishes at the NCAAs in 2010 (10th) and ’12 (7th). Junior Kevin Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.) was a 2012 sabre All-American (7th at NCAAs) while two others – senior sabre fencer Jason Choy (Basking Ridge, N.J.; 14th) and junior Michael Rossi (White Plains, N.Y.; 23rd) also fenced in the 2012 NCAAs.

The PENN STATE MEN, similar to Notre Dame, are welcoming back a pair of high-level foilist who did not fence collegiately in 2012 while pursuing their Olympic dreams. Fifth-year senior and Philadelphia native Miles Chamley-Watson joined ND’s Meinhardt on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team and has finished among the NCAA top-4 three times, including a loss to ND’s DeSmet in the 2011 title bout. PSU senior David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) – who has one year of eligibility remaining after 2013 – came up short in his 2012 Olympic bid, after finishing second at the 2010 NCAAs and reaching the ’11 semifinals.

Penn State’s other proven men’s fencers include junior sabre All-American Adiran Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.; 7th at ’11 NCAAs, 6th in ’12) and senior foilist Daniel Gomez (Mexico City, Mexico), who placed 10th at the 2012 NCAAs before competing in the Olympics for his native country. Sophomore foilist David Gomez (Daniel’s brother) placed 18th at the 2012 NCAAs but PSU’s 2012 NCAA epee entrants (Oliver Valdes/16th and Anthony Green/19th) no longer are on the team. The Nittany Lions also must fill a big hole at men’s sabre, after the graduation of two-time NCAA champion Alecs Ochocki. Early indications point to sophomore epeeist Jeffrey Miller (Centennial, Colo.) and freshman Canadian sabre talent Shaul Gordon being among the top candidates to fill expanded rolls in 2013.

Here’s some more quick notes on top returning fencers:

• Penn State women – Senior epeeist Marg Guzzi (Milan, Italy) will be looking to cap a stellar career that includes winning the NCAA title in 2012, being runner-up in ’12 and a 2011 semifinalist ... the squad’s only other returners from the 2012 NCAAs include junior sabre All-American Nicole Glon (State College, Pa.; 17th at ’11 NCAAs, 9th in ’12), daughter of longtime PSU assistant coach Wes Glon, and sophomore foilist Alina Antokhoma (Moscow, Russia), a 2012 NCAA semifinalist ... the PSU women must replace graduated All-American Monica Aksamit (the 2012 NCAA sabre runner-up) and 2012 NCAA epee qualifier Oksana Samorodov (10th at ’12 NCAAs).

• St. John’s men – Sabre sensation and 2012 U.S. Olympic quarterfinalist Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.) combined with PSU’s Ochocki to each win two NCAA sabre titles over the past four years ... Homer (NCAA champ in ’10 & ’11) sat out the 2012 college season due to his Olympic training (he was the NCAA runner-up in ’09) ... senior Sean Buckley (Seacaucus, N.J.) also returns to the sabre squad as a three-time All-American (8th at the 2010 & ’11 NCAAs, 10th in ’12) ... the other Red Storm weapons will need to step up in 2013, most notably in epee following the departure of All-Americans Nicholas Vomero (5th at ’12 NCAAs) and two-time NCAA champion Mart Israilian ... the squad does return both of its 2012 NCAA foil entrants, in juniors Eli Schenkel (Los Angeles; 9th at ’12 NCAA) and Max Blitzer (Staten Island, N.Y.; 14th) … versatile senior Adam Watson (Enosburg, Vt.) did not compete in the 2012 NCAAs but could play a key role in 2013, as he advanced to the 2010 NCAAs as a foilist and has fenced in the past with U.S. youth national epee teams.

• St. John’s women – Senior foilist Evgeniya Kirpicheva (Ufa, Russia) joins PSU epeeist Guzzi as three-time NCAA semifinalist, including winning the NCAA title in 2012 ... her countrywoman Irina Koroleva (Khimki, Russia) likewise is a three-time foil All-American (5th in ’11; 9th in ’10 & ’12) while junior Anna Limbach (Cologne, Germany) should be in the running for the 2013 sabre title, after placing eighth at the 2011 NCAAs and third in ’12 ... the Red Storm women also feature a pair of two-time NCAA qualifiers in junior epeeists Alina Ferdman (Ma’alot, Israel; 6th at ’12 NCAAs) and Zsofia Fath (Budapest, Hungary).

• Columbia women – This surging squad has received a huge boost with the return of another 2012 U.S. Olympian, in junior Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who fenced sparingly with the Lions in 2011 before focusing on Olympic qualification in 2012... senior epeeist and Chicago native Lydia Kopecky is a three-time NCAA qualifier (All-America in 2011/7th & ’12/8th) while the senior twin tandem of Loweye and Essane Diedro (Freeport, N.Y.) each have reached the NCAAs during their careers (Loweye was a 12-place All-American in 2011 while Essane placed 14th in ’12) ... senior foilist D’Meca Homer (sister to St. John’s standout Daryl Homer) is a three-time NCAA qualifier but has yet to finish higher than 19th ... sophomore epeeist Diana Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.) placed 17th at the 2012 NCAAs.

• In addition to various fencers mentioned above, other top returners (based on 2012 NCAA finish) include: Stanford junior men's foilist Turner Caldwell (San Francisco; 2012 NCAA runner-up, 7th in '11) … Columbia junior men's epeeist Alen Hadzic (Montclair, N.J.; '12 NCAA runner-up, 9th in '11) … Penn sophomore women's foilist Luona Wang (Vestavia Hills, Ala.; '12 NCAA runner-up) … and Northwestern senior women's epeeist Kate Cavanaugh (Milwaukee; '12 NCAA semifinalist).

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Poll #1 (Jan. 22, 2013)

Men
1. Ohio State – 123 voting points (5 first-place votes)
2. Penn State – 121 (3)
3. Notre Dame – 116
4. Princeton – 108
5. St. John’s – 105 (1)
6. Harvard – 96
7. Columbia – 83
8. Penn – 75
9. Duke –60
10. Stanford – 49
Also Receiving Votes – Sacred Heart 38, Brown 33, Yale 30, North Carolina 18, Air Force 11, MIT 6, UC San Diego 3, Boston College 2, Johns Hopkins 2 and Brandeis 1.

Women
1. Princeton – 147 voting points (8 first-place votes)
2. Notre Dame – 137 (2)
3. Columbia – 121
4. Ohio State – 120
5. Penn State – 111
6. St. John’s – 105
7. Northwestern – 88
8. Harvard – 85
9. Temple – 67
10. Penn – 60
Also Receiving Votes – Duke 56, Cornell 29, Brown 21, Stanford 21, Yale 10, North Carolina 7, Sacred Heart 5, MIT 3, Boston College 2, Stevens Tech 2, UC San Diego 2, and Johns Hopkins 1.

Voting Panel – Michael Aufrichtig (Columbia), Janusz Bednarski (Notre Dame), Zoltan Dudas (Princeton), Sydney Fadner (Boston College), Nikki Franke (Temple), Emmanuil Kaidanov (Penn State), Josh Runyan (UC San Diego), Laurie Schiller (Northwestern), Bill Shipman (Brandeis) and Tom Vrabel (Sacred Heart).
(note – coach Franke votes only on the women’s poll)

________________________

RELEASE: March 20, 2012 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Final Edition of the 2012 CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll (Poll #3; March 20)

Men (previous)
1. Ohio State (1)
2. Princeton (4)
3. St. John's (3)
4. Notre Dame (5)
5. Penn State (2)
6. Harvard (6)
7. Pennsylvania (7)
8. Duke (10)
9. Columbia (–)
10. Sacred Heart (9)
Others receiving votes: North Carolina, Stanford, Yale (prev. #10), Brown, Boston College, Air Force, Brandeis & NYU

Women (previous)
1. Princeton (3)
2. Ohio State (1)
3. Notre Dame (4)
4. Penn State (2)
5. Columbia (6)
6. St. John's (5)
7. Harvard (9)
8. Northwestern (8)
9. Temple (7)
10. Duke (–)
Others receiving votes: Pennsylvania (prev. #10), North Carolina, Cornell, Brown, Air Force, Boston College, Yale, Sacred Hear & Stevens Tech

_______________________________________

RELEASE: Feb.23, 2012 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Second Edition of the 2012 CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll (Poll #2; Feb. 23)

Men (previous)
1. Ohio State (5)
2. Penn State (1)
3. St. John's (6)
4. Princeton (2)
5. Notre Dame (4)
6. Harvard (3)
7. Pennsylvania (7)
8. Duke (8)
9. Sacred Heart (9)
10. Yale (10)

Others receiving votes: Stanford, North Carolina, Air Force, Boston College, Brown & NYU

Women (previous)
1. Ohio State (6)
2. Penn State (1)
3. Princeton (2)
4. Notre Dame (3)
5. St. John's (5)
6. Columbia (–)
7. Temple (8)
8. Northwestern (4)
9. Harvard (7)
10. Pennsylvania (9)
Others receiving votes: Duke (prev. #10), Brown, Stanford, Boston College, Yale, North Carolina, Cornell, Sacred Heart, Johns Hopkins, MIT & Stevens Tech

RELEASE: Jan. 19, 2012 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Analysis and historical perspective to be added later.

First Edition of the 2012 CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll (Poll #1; Jan. 19)

Men
1. Penn State
2. Princeton
3. Harvard
4. Notre Dame
5. Ohio State
6. St. John's
7. Pennsylvania
8. Duke
9. Sacred Heart
10. Yale
Others receiving votes: North Carolina, Columbia, Stanford, Air Force, NYU, Brown and Wayne State

Women
1. Penn State
2. Princeton
3. Notre Dame
4. Northwestern
5. St. John's
6. Ohio State
7. Harvard
8. Temple
9. Pennsylvania
10. Duke
Others receiving votes: Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Yale, North Carolina, Sacred Heart, NYU, MIT and Boston College

• • • •

The third and final poll of the 2010-11 season will be added here.

• • • •

RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2011 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Notes – There was no change in the top-five spots of the men's poll, while current #6 Penn and #7 Princeton swapped spots ... Duke moved up from #9 to #8, Stanford stayed at #10 and current #9 Yale (which nearly won the Ivy League title) is the newcomer to the top-10, replacing former #8 Columbia ... the ND women stayed #1 but the new #2 on the women's side is Ohio State, after the former #10 Buckeyes rattled off numerous upsets over the past month ... current #3 Princeton and #4 St. John's both have moved up a spot, with Penn State slipping from #2 to #5 and Harvard dropping from #3 all the way to #8 ... current #6 Northwestern has moved up a spot, while Temple improved from #9 to #7, Columbia dropped from #6 to #10, and Duke entered the top-10 (at #9, replacing former #8 Penn).

Midseason Update (Poll #2; Feb. 18)
2011 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll

Men (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Harvard (2)
3. St. John's (3)
4. Penn State (4)
5. Ohio State (5)
6. Pennsylvania (7)
7. Princeton (6)
8. Duke (9)
9. Yale (–)
10. Stanford (10)
Others receiving votes: Air Force, Columbia (8), North Carolina, Sacred Heart, Vassar, Haverford, NYU, UC San Diego and Boston College.

Women (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Ohio State (10)
3. Princeton (4)
4. St. John's (5)
5. Penn State (2)
6. Northwestern (7)
7. Temple (9)8. Harvard (3)
9. Duke (–)
10. Columbia-Barnard (6)

Others receiving votes: Pennsylvania (8), Cornell, Stanford, North Carolina, UC San Diego, Wellesley, Brandeis. NYU, Vassar, Brown, Stevens Tech, Yale and Johns Hopkins.

• • • •

RELEASE: Jan. 19, 2011 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

First Edition of the 2011 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll

Men
1. Notre Dame
2. Harvard
3. St. John's
4. Penn State
5. Ohio State
6. Princeton
7. Pennsylvania
8. Columbia
9. Duke
10. Stanford

Others receiving votes: North Carolina, Yale, Air Force, Sacred Heart, Wayne State, UC-San Diego, Brown, NYU, Johns Hopkins and MIT.

Women
1. Notre Dame
2. Penn State
3. Harvard
4. Princeton

5. St. John's
6. Columbia-Barnard
7. Northwestern
8. Pennsylvania
9. Temple
10. Ohio State
Others receiving votes: Duke, Cornell, North Carolina, Air Force, Stanford, MIT, NYU, UC-San Diego, Yale, Brown and Brandeis.

TOP OF BOTH POLLS HISTORY – Notre Dame also was #1 in both of the initial USFCA polls during the 2004 season (ND ended up placing 3rd at the '04 NCAA Combined Fencing Championship) ... during the past 10 seasons (2002-2011), there have been seven years (all but '06, '07 and '08) when a fencing program has been #1 in the initial USFCA polls for both its men's and women's teams:

Recent teams #1 in both men's and women's fencing (USFCA initial polls)
2002 – St. John's (ended up as NCAA runner-up)
2003 – Penn State (NCAA runner-up)
2004 – Notre Dame (placed 3rd at NCAAs)
2005 – Ohio State (NCAA runner-up)
2009 – Penn State (NCAA champion)
2010 – Penn State (NCAA champion)
2011 – Notre Dame (TBA)
... in 2006, the Ohio State men and ND women were #1 in the initial USFCA polls (Harvard, which had the #4 men's team and #5 women in the first poll, went on to win the '06 NCAA Combined title) ... in '07, the Harvard men and PSU women opened at #1 (Penn State, which started with the #3 men's team, ended up winning the '07 combined title) ... and in '08, the PSU men and ND women were the initial #1 squads but Ohio State (opened at #2 in both polls) emerged as the champion that season.

BEEN THERE – This marks the third straight year that Notre Dame has been #1 in both the men's and women's USFCA polls, at some point in the season ... in fact, ND has been #1 in both polls during five of the past six polls (spanning the 2009-11 seasons) ... in each of the previous two seasons ('09, '10), the Irish owned the matching #1s distinction in the mid-Feb. poll and the mid-March poll (prior to NCAAs) – but both years ND failed to close out those seasons with the NCAA title (Penn State, which owned the matching #1s in the initial polls during both of those seasons, ended up being the champs in both '09 and '10).

GENDER BALANCE – In addition to Notre Dame (#1/#1), there are three other fencing programs that feature their men's and women's teams in the top-5: Harvard (#2 men/#3 women), Penn State (#4/#2) and St. John's (#3/#5) ... two of the schools with women's teams in the top-10 (#7 Northwestern and #9 Temple) do not sponsor varsity men's fencing (Cornell, which received the 12th-most votes in the women's poll, also does not have a varsity men's fencing team).

WHO'S BACK – Here's a quick look at top returners (and top losses) for the nation's elite college fencing programs ... please note that some of this data could change, based on the availability of certain fencers during the next couple months (it's also quite common for newcomers to make an immediate impact on the college fencing scene).

• Notre Dame – The Irish have plenty of fencers with NCAA Tournament experience, with 14 current ND fencers having combined for 27 career appearances in the NCAAs (comprised of 25 All-America/top-12 finishes, 11 top-4 placements, two runner-up performances and a pair of NCAA individual champions) ... these 14 fencers feature nine seniors, among them women's epeeist Ewa Nelip – an NCAA semifinalist in '08 and '09 who did not fence collegiately in 2010, while training with the Polish National Team program ... the return of Nelip offsets the graduation loss of epee standout Kelley Hurley ('08 U.S. Olympian; '08 NCAA champ, '07 runner-up, 6th in '10) – the only non-returning member of ND's 12-fencer contingent at the 2010 NCAAs (won by PSU with 191 pts, followed by St. John's with 182 and ND's 180) ... ND junior men's foilist Gerek Meinhardt (also a 2008 U.S. Olympian) won the NCAA title in 2010, after losing the '09 final to former PSU multi-weapon fencer Nick Chinman ... the Irish seniors include two elite sabreists on the women's side and two more on the men's team (all four hail from the west coast, including three from the Portland area) ... Sarah Borrmann won the NCAA women's sabre title as a freshman in 2008 (13th in '09; 5th in '10) while her Oregon Fencing Alliance teammate Eileen Hassett has placed 5th-6th-7th at the past three NCAAs ... another OFA product, Avery Zuck, was an NCAA men's sabre semifinalist in 2010 (5th in '09), while his classmate Barron Nydam is a three-time All-American (6th in '08; 10th in '09 and '10) ... senior women's foilist Hayley Reese is yet another ND three-time All-American (11th in '08; lost '09 final to PSU's Doris Willette; 5th in '10) while junior men's foilist Enzo Castellani already has a pair of NCAA semifinalist finishes to his credit ... junior women's epeeist Courtney Hurley (Kelley's younger sister) likewise reached the NCAA final-4 in her weapon during the 2009 NCAAs and again in '10 ... senior men's epeeist Greg Schoolcraft is a two-time NCAA entrant (18th in '09; 12th in '10), while his classmates Steve Kubik (8th at '08 NCAAs) and Zach Schirtz (11th in '08) give the Irish ridiculous depth in men's foil (combining with Meinhardt and Castellani for six All-America honors between the four of them) ... sophomore men's epeeist James Kaull (10th at '10 NCAAs) is the only member of ND's 14 fencers with NCAA experience who is not a senior or junior ... junior women's foilist Darsie Malynn (23rd at '10 NCAAs) rounds out this experienced group ... there still could be a new face or two among ND's qualifiers for the NCAAs in 2011 (top candidates include freshman women's foilist Rachel Beck, sophomore Lian Osier (currently the nation's top-ranked U-19 women's sabreist; did not compete in 2010 dual meets) and possibly even freshman men's foilist Ariel DeSmet (who adds yet another top-level fencer to that weapon for ND).

• Harvard – The Crimson, five years removed from the program's first NCAA team title, could find themselves firmly in the mix at the 2011 championship ... fencers who can rack up high win totals at the NCAAs often help vault their team into contention – and Harvard has two such competitors in the junior duo of women's sabreist Caroline Vloka ('10 NCAA champ; '09 runner-up) and women's epeeist Noam Mills (NCAA runner-up in '09 and '10) ... Harvard has three other fencers who have turned in All-America finishes (top-12) at the NCAAs: junior men's sabreist Valentin Staller (15th in '09; 6th in '10), sophomore men's foilist Tomasso DiRobilant (12th in '10) and junior women's foilist Shelby MacLeod (17th in '09; 11th in '10) ... in order to take a step up in 2011 (after placing 5th at the '10 NCAAs), Harvard clearly will need some higher win totals from fencers other than Vloka, Mills and Staller ... in the 2010 NCAAs, several of the Harvard fencers finished well off the All-America pace: current sophomore sabreists Michael Tom and Elena Helgu both were 21st at the '10 NCAAs, while sophomore women's epeeist Felicia Sun was 22nd as a freshman at the '10 NCAAs (current senior men's foilist Hao Meng was 16th at the NCAAs a year ago, with current junior James Hawrot placing 14th in the 2010 men's epee competition) ... Harvard appears to have the building blocks in place, after losing only two of its 12 NCAA entrants from 2010: men's foilist Karl Harmenberg (23rd at '09 NCAAs; 16th in '10) and women's foilist Misha Goldfeder (10th in '07; 12th in '10) ... the Harvard team that won the NCAA title in 2005 featured three fencers who ended up winning NCAA individual titles in their career: women's foilist and future U.S. Olympian Emily Cross (who knocked off three-time NCAA champion Alicja Kryczalo in the '05 final), men's epeeist Benji Ungar ('06 NCAA champ) and men's sabreist Tim Hagamen (who claimed his NCAA title in '07) ... Harvard's chances of contending for the title in 2011 could hinge on strong performances from a newcomer or two, such as freshman men's epeeist Michael Raynis (has held U.S. #1 ranking in Under-19s), freshman men's sabreis Eriz Arzoian (3rd-place at 2010 Junior World Championships) and freshman women's foilist Alexandra Kiefer (impressively won the Penn State Garret Open, in the fall of '10) ... junior women's sabreist Hayley Levitt also could emerge as a key postseason contributor for the Crimson.

• Penn State – The two-time defending champions have some key pieces to replace, following the graduation losses of several individuals who were among college fencing's best during their careers: multi-weapon wizard Nick Chinman ('09 NCAA foil champ; '10 epee semifinalist; '08 foil semifinalist, 5th in '07); women's epeeist Anastasia Ferdman ('09 NCAA champion; semifinalist in '07, '08 and '10); men's sabreist Daniel Bak ('10 runner-up; semifinalist in '08 and '09); women's sabreist Caity Thompson ('07 NCAA runner-up; '06 semifinalist; 11th in '09; 6th in '10); and even women's epeeist Keri Byerts, a 2008 All-American (5th at NCAAs), who combines with Ferdman to leave a gap in the PSU women's epee group ... but don't feel too sorry for the Nittany Lions at any weapon, including women's epee – which is headlined by the 2010 NCAA champion, sophomore Margherita Guzzi (mistakingly listed as a freshman on the current PSU roster) ... Penn State has two other past NCAA champions on its current roster, along with two other veterans who have proven capable of winning an individual title ... those top veterans to watch, along with Guzzi, include junior men's sabreist Aleksander Ochocki ('09 NCAA champ; '10 semifinalist), junior men's foilist Miles Chamley-Watson ('09 and '10 semifinalist), and a pair of accomplished foil sibings: 5th-year senior Doris Willette ('07 and '09 NCAA champ; '10 runner-up; '08 U.S. Olympian) and freshman David Willette ('10 NCAA runner-up) ... Penn State won the 2010 NCAA despite a couple of lower finishes – 18th by men's epeeist Brian Heflich ('10 graduate) and 15th from women's sabreist Olivia Benedek (a sophomore in 2009-10 who is not listed on the team's current roster) ... despite the absence of its 2010 NCAA entrants in women's sabre, Penn State should be just fine in that weapon with the return of junior Monica Aksamit (5th at '09 NCAAs; did not fence for PSU in '10) and the addition of talented freshman Nicole Glon (member of U.S. Junior National Team and daughter of longtime PSU assistant Wes Glon) ... Penn State also returns sophomore women's foilist Olga Ostatnigrosh (16th at 2010 NCAAs), who still has the absolute minimum bio. info. on the PSU roster page (not even a hometown listed, despite being with the team for over a year and being one of the top returning foilists in college fencing) ... in addition to Guzzi, PSU's top women's epeeists appear to be freshman Anne Stephenson (10th at the PSU Garret Open in the fall of '10) and junior Alyssa Vongries (12th) ... the PSU men's roster is well-fortified with the likes of Ochocki, Chamley-Watson and Willette, along with another sibling as sabreist Adrian Bak is taking over where his brother Daniel left off (the younger Bak claimed the 2010 U.S. Junior National Championship) ... the men's foil unit should have a strong top-3, with the addition of talented newcomer Jeremy Goldstein (past member of various U.S. youth national teams) ... that leaves a depleted men's epee squad, following the graduation of NCAA participants Chinman and Heflich (along PSU freshman who hails from Connecticut: Anthony Green, took home the men's epee title at the Garret Open).

• St. John's – The Red Storm have made some key steps over the past few years and could be back knocking at the door for another NCAA title (but several key lineup questions seemingly have to be answered for SJU to be a true contender) ... the St. John's men had the rare distinction of producing two NCAA individual champions in 2010 (both are current juniors): sabreist Daryl Homer (also '09 runner-up) and epeeist Marat Israelian ... the SJU men have the luxury of featuring several other All-Americans (top-12 NCAA finishers) on the current roster, including a pair of sabreists – junior Alejandro Rojas (7th in '09) and sophomore Sean Buckley (8th in '10) – who could combine with Homer to form one of the nation's top sabre trios in dual-meet matchups ... sophomore Adam Watson is a proven two-weapon threat, as he fenced foil at the 2010 NCAAs (15th) but has fenced for various U.S. youth national teams in epee ... in the recent Brandeis Invitational, Israelson and Watson combined a bit with junior Nicholas Vomero (21st at '09 NCAAs; 5th in '10) for a glimpse at what could be another potent SJU weapon trio ... the Red Storm may still need Watson at foil, after losing three-time NCAA participant Alexis Landreville to graduation (16th in '07; 18th in '09; 10th in '10) ... based on the results from Brandeis, it looks like SJU also could expect key contributions this season from freshman foilists Eli Schenkel (#16 in U.S. junior/U-19 rankings), Dagmara WozniakSanna Gars Anna LimbachAlexandrea TannousFruzsina PalinkasSaeedah Cook Alina FerdmanBecca Ward Margarita TschomakovaDayana Sarkisova (2010 NCAA semfinalist). ('09 and '10 semifinalist); and Northwestern sophomore women's foilist ('09 NCAA champ; '10 runner-up; '08 U.S. Olympian); Ohio State junior women's sabreist (who adds to the list of impressive fencers from Maalot, Israel, who have joined the college fencing ranks over the years – have to check, but assuming recent PSU epee standout Anastasia Ferdman likely is her sister or cousin?).

In addition to some of the fencers mentioned above (from ND, Harvard, PSU and SJU), a handful of other fencers are back in 2011 after reaching the NCAA semifinal round in 2010: Duke junior women's sabreist Other Top Returners: and freshman , fellow sophomore (#39 in U.S. under-19 rankings) fenced along with Wozniak in the recent SJU women's sabre bouts at Brandeis ... the top options to replace the epee production of Novakovka and Gars appear to be Hungarian product (Cologne, Germany) and (5th at '10 NCAAs, as a freshman) is not on the current SJU roster ... freshmen is back to make another run at the NCAA title (she was a semifinalist in '09 and '10, also 5th in '07 before spending '08 in qualifying/training as a U.S. Olympic alternate) ... the Red Storm women also return a pair of Russian natives who turned in All-America performances as freshmen in 2010: (NCAA semifinalist) and (9th at '10 NCAAs) ... the squad must replace All-Americans at all three women's weapons, most notably in foil ( placed 5th-8th-8th-13th at the '07-'10 NCAAs) ... departed sabreist was 11th at the '08 NCAAs and 10th in 2010 while Swedish women's epeeist Martyna WieczorekTetyana NovakovskaIrina Koroleva Evgenlya Kirichevar (#27) and (#46) ... on the women's side, senior sabreist Wilfred CuriosoMax Blitze

• • • •

RELEASE: March 19, 2010 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Notre Dame Teams Stays Atop USFCA College Fencing Polls

2010 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #3; March 19)

MEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. Penn State (1)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Princeton (4)
5. St. John's (8)
6. Harvard (7)
7. Pennsylvania (6)
8. Duke (9)
9. Yale (8)
10. North Carolina (NR)

Others receiving votes: Columbia, Brown, Sacred Heart, Air Force, UC San Diego, NYU, Stanford, Wayne State and Brandeis.

WOMEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Penn State (2)
3. Princeton (4)
4. Northwestern (3)
5. St. John's (6)
6. Ohio State (7)
7. Columbia-Barnard (5)
8. Harvard (9)
9. Temple (8)
10. Pennsylvania (10)

Others receiving votes: Duke, Yale, North Carolina, Cornell, Brandeis, UC San Diego, Brown, Stanford, Air Force, NYU and Boston College

• • • •

RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2010 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

Notre Dame Teams Back on Top of USFCA College Fencing Poll

The undefeated Notre Dame fencing teams have returned to the top spots in the respective men's and women's national rankings, as announced by the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association and CF360 (full polls listed below).

The Notre Dame men – who wrapped up the 2010 regular season with a 33-0 record in dual meets (24-0 vs. varsity squads) – racked up 11 wins over teams ranked in the first 2010 USFCA top-10 poll: #1 Penn State, #3 Ohio State (twice), #4 Princeton, #5 Columbia (2), #7 Harvard, #8 St. John's (2), #9 Yale and #10 Duke. The ND women (35-0; 27-0 vs. varsity teams) similarly had an impressive run of wins over top-10 teams, with 13 victories over teams currently or previously ranked among the top-10 (numbers are previous ranking, unless note): #1 Penn State, #3 Harvard, #4 Columbia (2), #5 Northwestern (2), #6 Ohio State (2), #7 Temple, #9 Princeton and #10 Yale – plus two wins over current #6 St. John's.

The Penn State men and women each dropped a spot to #2 in the poll, while the Ohio State men remained #3 and the Princeton men #4. Princeton joins ND and PSU as the only schools with both its men and women ranked in the top-5 (the Tiger women have surged from 9th to 4th in the latest rankings).

The St. John's men climbed three spots (8th to 5th) and the Harvard men bumped up a spot to 6th, with fellow Ivy League teams Pennsylvania (6th to 7th) and Columbia (5th to 8th) dropping down in the poll. Duke inched up from 10th to 9th while Air Force – led by the All-America epee due of senior Peter French and junior Daniel Trapani – has entered the top-10 in the 10th spot (previous #9 Yale dropped out of the men's poll).

In addition to Princeton, two other women's teams made noteworthy jumps in the poll – as Northwestern now sits in the #3 spot while the previously-unranked St. John's women now are slotted 6th. The Harvard women (#3 to #9) took the biggest tumble in the poll, with one-spot drops by Columbia-Barnard (now 5th), Ohio State (7th) and Temple (8th), along with the Penn women slipping from 8th to 10th and the #10 Yale women falling out of the poll.

Noteworthy results (other than the key ND wins noted above) that may have affected movement in the polls are as follows:

• St. John's men def. Ohio State, Columbia (twice) and Harvard
• Harvard men def. Ohio State and Columbia
• Duke men def. Penn State
• Air Force men def. Duke

• Northwestern women def. Columbia
• Ohio State women def. Harvard and Northwestern
• St. John's women def. Penn State, Harvard, Columbia and Ohio State (twice)
• Columbia women def. Penn State and Harvard
• Princeton women def. Northwestern, Ohio State and Temple
• Brandeis women def. Penn
• UC San Diego women def. Temple

Princeton's ascent into top-5 status has been led by All-Americans such as junior men's epeeist Graham Wicas ('09 NCAA runner-up), sophomore men's foilist Alex Mills and sophomore women's epeeist Susannah Scanlan. The Tigers also have received a boost from senior men's sabreist Thomas Abend and the sophomore women's foil duo of Andrea Oliva ('09 NCAA entrant) and Rocky Rothenberg, along with clutch performances from freshman newcomers Jonathan Yergler (men's epee), Eliza Stone (women's sabre) and Hannah Safford (women's epee).

The St. John's women have entered the national top-10 thanks to strong showings by senior All-Americans Dagmara Wozniak (sabre) and Tanya Novakovska (epee), while reloading its roster with several European imports – most notably foilist Evgeniya Kirpicheva (Ufa, Russia) and epeeist Sanne Gans (Karlskrona, Sweden).

2010 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 18)

MEN (previous rank)

1. Notre Dame (2)

2. Penn State (1)

3. Ohio State (3)

4. Princeton (4)

5. St. John's (8)

6. Harvard (7)

7. Pennsylvania (6)

8. Columbia (5)

9. Duke (10)

10. Air Force (–)

NYU, Yale, North Carolina, Stanford, UC San Diego, Sacred Heart, Wayne State and Brown.Others receiving votes:

WOMEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. Penn State (1)
3. Northwestern (5)
4. Princeton (9)
5. Columbia-Barnard (4)
6. St. John's (–)
7. Ohio State (6)
8. Temple (7)
9. Harvard (3)
10. Pennsylvania (8)

Others receiving votes: Duke, Yale, UC San Diego, North Carolina, Cornell, Brandeis, NYU, Brown and Stanford

• • • •

RELEASE: Jan. 21, 2010 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

First Edition of the 2010 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll

Men – 1. Penn State ... 2. Notre Dame ... 3. Ohio State ... 4. Princeton ...

5. Columbia ... 6. Pennsylvania ... 7. Harvard ... 8. St. John's ... 9. Yale ... 10. Duke

... Others receiving votes: North Carolina, NYU, Air Force, Stanford, UC-San Diego, Sacred Heart, Brown and Johns Hopkins

Women – 1. Penn State ... 2. Notre Dame ... 3. Harvard ... 4. Columbia-Barnard ...

5. Northwestern ... 6. Ohio State ... 7. Temple ... 8. Pennsylvania ... 9. Princeton ...

10. Yale ... Others receiving votes: Duke, St. John's (NY), Cornell, Brown, Stanford, North Carolina, UC-San Diego, NYU and Sacred Heart

Notes – Defending NCAA champion Penn State holds down the top spot in both polls and is led by four returning NCAA champions (men's foilist Nick Chinman, men's sabreist Aleksander Ochocki, women's foilist Doris Willette and women's epeeist Anastasia Ferdman) ... Penn State was #2 in the final 2009 USFCA polls (for men and women) while Notre Dame was #1 in both rankings of the final '09 polls (ND went on to be the 2009 NCAA runner-up) ... Columbia is the only other fencing program currently in the top-5 for both men (#5) and women (#4) ... Princeton's surging men's program checks in at #4 in the current poll (the Tiger women are ranked 9th) ... Ohio State's men are ranked #3 but the OSU women are outside the top-5 (6th) ... Harvard's women are a top-5 team (#3) but the Crimson men are ranked 7th ... other programs with both men's and women's team in the top-10 include Pennsylvania (men 6th; women 8th) and Yale (men 9th; women 10th) ... the other top-10 teams: St. John's men (8th), Duke men (10th), Northwestern women (5th) and Temple women (7th).

• • • •

RELEASE: March 17 , 2009 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)

BOTH NOTRE DAME TEAMS STLL #1 IN BOTH POLLS

2009 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #3; March 17)

MEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Penn State (2)
3. Pennsylvania (4)
4. Ohio State (3)
5. Columbia (5)
6. Princeton (6)
7. Harvard (9)
8. St. John's (7)
9. Stanford (10)
10. Duke (8)

Others receiving votes (in order) -- North Carolina, Air Force, Brandeis, Yale, UC-San Diego, Wayne State, Brown and Johns Hopkins (tied).

WOMEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Penn State (2)
3. Harvard (4)
4. Columbia-Barnard (5)
5. Northwestern (7)
6. Ohio State (3)
7. Pennsylvania (6)
8. Princeton (10)
9. Temple (8)
10. St. John's (9)

Others receiving votes (in order) -- Stanford, Duke, Yale, North Carolina, NYU, Brandeis, Air Force, Cornell, MIT and UC-San Diego (tied), Wayne State.

• • • • • •

RELEASE: Feb. 19 , 2009 CONTACT: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
NOTRE DAME CLAIMS SOLE POSSESSION OF #1 SPOT IN BOTH POLLS

The Notre Dame men's and women's fencing teams have claimed sole possession of the respective #1 spots in the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association national polls (as announced on Feb. 19). The Irish men previously had shared the top spot with Penn State, while the ND women were second in the initial Jan. 23 poll (behind PSU). The full poll is listed below, as is the season-opening 2009 USFCA poll.

Most of the other movement in the polls went as expected – with the University of Pennsylvania (now #6), St. John's (#7) and Duke (#8) each moving up two spots in the men's poll, while the Penn women made the biggest jump (from #9 to #6) and any team, men or women. Harvard (now #4) and St. John's (#9) also climbed up the women's poll.

Other teams currently ranked in the men's poll include Penn State (#2), Ohio State (#3), Columbia (#5), Princeton (#6), Harvard (#9) and Stanford (#10). The other ranked women's teams are PSU (#2), OSU (#3), Columbia (#5), Northwestern (#7), Temple (#8) and Princeton (#10).

This marks the first time since the 2004 season-opening poll that both Notre Dame fencing teams have been ranked #1. At least one of the Irish fencing teams has held sole possession of the top ranking in eight of the past nine seasons (2001-06, '08-'09). The Notre Dame women now have been ranked #1 in five of the past six years (all but '07), while this marks the first time since 2004 that the ND men have held sole possession of the top ranking.

The NOTRE DAME men ended the 2009 regular season undefeated (33-0) for the 21st time in the ND men's fencing program's history and first time since 2003 (24-0). The Irish defeated nine top-10 opponents – Penn State, Ohio State (2), Columbia (2), Stanford, St. John's (2) and North Carolina (former co-#10) – during their undefeated regular season. The 33 wins are the most ever in a season, by any Notre Dame fencing team (men's or women's).

The Notre Dame women ended the regular season with a 32-2 record, tying the program record for wins in a season. The Irish women suffered both of their losses by 14-13 scores at the first-week NYU Duals (vs. top-5 foes Ohio State and Columbia), but they ultimately turned in eight wins over teams that have been ranked in the top-10 this season (Penn State, Ohio State, Columbia, Northwestern twice, Temple, and St. John's twice).

The PENN STATE men (12-3) have suffered losses to Penn (10-17), Notre Dame (13-14) and Ohio State (11-16), with noteworthy wins over Princeton, Harvard, Duke and UNC. The PSU women (13-1) dropped a 9-18 match to ND (at the Northwestern Duals), but they own a series of top wins over Ohio State, Penn, Northwestern, Temple and Duke (formerly #10). Both Nittany Lions squads will wrap up their regular-season bouting this weekend, as the host school for a Feb. 21 quad meet (also featuring St. John's, Duke and Temple).

Both OHIO STATE teams have maintained their #3 rankings, with the OSU men (32-2) ending their regular season with only two losses the Notre Dame (both 12-15) as blemishes on their record. The Buckeye men in recent weeks have posted key wins over Penn State, Columbia twice, St. John's twice, Harvard, Stanford and UNC. The OSU women (26-5) own top victories over ND, Northwestern twice, Temple and St. John's twice – with their losses coming against ND (10-17), PSU (10-17), Columbia (10-17, 12-15) and Harvard (12-15). The PENN men (15-0) – who are in the driver's seat to win the Ivy League title this weekend – have turned in five wins over top-10 opponents this season, with notable upsets of Penn State (17-10), Columbia (18-9) and Princeton (17-10), along with victories over Duke and UNC. At first glance, the rise up the poll by the Penn women (12-4) is more surprising. The Quaker women jumped over Northwestern, Princeton and Temple in the poll, despite going 1-2 vs. those teams (win over Temple; 12-15 losses to the Wildcats and Tigers). The Penn women also own a win over Duke, with their other losses coming against Penn State (6-21) and Columbia (8-19). Both ST. JOHN'S squads were ranked low in the season-opening polls (most likely due to losing several key fencers from the '08 teams), but each has made a move up the rankings. The SJU men (8-6) overcame a couple of tough losses early in the season (13-14 vs. Boston College, 12-15 vs. Yale) to register a pair of impressive victories over Columbia (18-19) and Harvard (14-13), with the Red Storm men's other losses coming against ND and OSU (two each). The St. John's women (8-7) have one marquee win (15-12 vs. Columbia, while their losses have come against ND (2), OSU, Columbia (2), Harvard and Brandeis. The St. John's teams could make a statement this weekend, at the Penn State Quad Meet (vs. PSU, Duke and Temple). See the CF360 blog for recent (and future) in-depth information about the other top-10 Ivy League teams. We look forward to seeing how the Columbia and Harvard men's teams perform, following several weeks of inconsistent results by both squads (causing each to drop in the national poll). The blog also will be providing season overviews for other top-10 teams not mentioned above (Duke and Stanford men; Northwestern and Temple women). CollegeFencing360 will have additional analysis of the nation's top teams and individuals over the next few weeks, as we near the NCAA Championships in mid-March.

2009 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 19)
MEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (t-1)
1. Penn State (t-1)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Pennsylvania (6)
5. Columbia (4)
6. Princeton (5)
7. St. John's (9)
8. Duke (10)
9. Harvard (7)
10. Stanford (8)

Others receiving votes (in order) – North Carolina, NYU and Yale (tied), Brandeis, Wayne State, Air Force, Drew, MIT, UC-San Diego, Boston College and Johns Hopkins (tied), Brown, Vassar.

WOMEN (previous rank)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. Penn State (1)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Harvard (5)
5. Columbia (4)
6. Pennsylvania (9)
7. Northwestern (6)
8. Temple (8)
9. St. John's (–)
10. Princeton (7)

Others receiving votes (in order) – Duke, NYU, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Brandeis nd North Carolina (tied), Cornell, Brown, UC-San Diego and Wayne State (tied).

• • • • • •

2009 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 23)
MEN
1. Penn State
1. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. Pennsylvania
7. Harvard
7. Stanford
9. St. John's
10. Duke
10. North Carolina

Others receiving votes (in order) – NYU and Yale (tied), Brandeis, Wayne State, Air Force, Drew and MIT (tied), UC-San Diego, Boston College and Johns Hopkins (tied), Brown, Vassar.

WOMEN
1. Penn State
2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Columbia
5. Harvard
6. Northwestern
7. Princeton
8. Temple
9. Pennsylvania
10. Duke

Others receiving votes (in order) – St. John's, Stanford, North Carolina, Brandeis, NYU, Cornell and Wayne State (tied), UC-San Diego (Air Force, Brown, Drew and Yale all tied)

• • • • • •

2008 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 22)
WOMEN
1. Ohio State (2)
2. Notre Dame (1)
3. Columbia-Barnard (3)
4. Northwestern (6)
5. Pennsylvania (8)
6. Harvard (5)
7. St. John's (7)
8. Temple (9)
9. Penn State (4)
10. Princeton (10)

Others receiving votes (in order) – North Carolina, Stanford, Brown, Yale, Cornell, Wayne State, NYU, Brandeis, UC San Diego, Duke, Air Force and MIT.

• • • • • •

2008 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 18)
MEN
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
4. St. John's
5. Columbia
6. Pennsylvania
7. Harvard
8. Princeton
9. Brandeis
10. Stanford

WOMEN
1. Notre Dame
2. Ohio State
3. Columbia-Barnard
4. Penn State
5. Harvard
6. Northwestern
7. St. John's
8. Pennsylvania
9. Temple
10. Princeton

• • • • • •

2007 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #3; March 20)
MEN (previous poll)
1. Penn State (1)
2. Columbia (3)
3. St. John's (5)
4. Ohio State (2)
5. Harvard (4)
6. Notre Dame (6)
7. Pennsylvania (7)
8. Princeton (8)
9. Rutgers (–)
10. Duke (10)

Others receiving votes (in order) – Stanford, Brandeis, UC San Diego,North Carolina, Yale, NYU, Air Force, Brown and Cleveland State.

WOMEN (previous poll)
1. Penn State (1)
2. Columbia-Barnard (2)
3. St. John's (7)
4. Ohio State (5)
5. Notre Dame (4)
6. Harvard (3)
7. Northwestern (6)
8. Pennsylvania (8)
9. Temple (9)
10. Princeton (10)

Others receiving votes (in order – North Carolina, Cornell, UC San Diego, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Brown, Wayne State and Air Force.

• • • • • •

2007 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 21)
MEN (previous)
1. Penn State (3)
2. Ohio State (2)
3. Columbia (4)
4. Harvard (1)
5. St. John's (6)
6. Notre Dame (5)
7. Pennsylvania (7)
8. Princeton (10)
9. Stanford (9)
10. Duke (–)

Others receiving votes (in order) – Rutgers, North Carolina, UC San Diego, Wayne State, Brandeis, NYU, Air Force and Yale.

WOMEN (previous)
1. Penn State (1)
2. Columbia-Barnard (2)
3. Harvard (3)
4. Notre Dame (4)
5. Ohio State (6)
6. Northwestern (5)
7. St. John's (6)
8. Pennsylvania (8)
9. Temple (9)
10. Princeton (–)

Others receiving votes (in order) – Princeton, Yale, Duke, UC San Diego, Wayne State, Cornell, Air Force, Rutgers and Brandeis.

• • • • • •

2007 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 19)
MEN
1. Harvard
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Columbia
5. Notre Dame
6. St. John's
7. Pennsylvania
8. Stanford
9. Air Force
10. Princeton

Others receiving votes (in order) – Rutgers, Duke, Brandeis, NYU, North Carolina, Yale, UC San Diego, Wayne State and Cal State Fullerton.

WOMEN
1. Penn State
2. Columbia-Barnard
3. Harvard
4. Notre Dame
5. Northwestern
6. Ohio State
6. St. John's
8. Pennsylvania
9. Temple
10. Stanford

Others receiving votes (in order) – Princeton, Yale, Duke, UC San Diego, North Carolina, Wayne State, Cornell, Air Force, Rutgers and Brandeis.

• • • • • •

2006 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 22)
MEN (previous poll)
1. Ohio State (1)
2. Notre Dame (2)
2. Penn State (3)
4. Harvard (4)
5. St. John's (6)
6. Columbia (5)
7. Princeton (7)
8. Stanford (9)
9. Pennsylvania (8)
10. Air Force (–)

• • • • • •

2006 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 21)
MEN
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Penn State
4. Harvard
5. Columbia
6. St. John's
7. Princeton
8. Pennsylvania
9. Stanford
10. Duke

Others receiving votes (in order) – Air Force, Rutgers, Brown, NYU, Yale, North Carolina, UC San Diego, Wayne State, Brandeis and Cleveland State.

WOMEN
1. Notre Dame
2. Penn State
3. Columbia-Barnard
4. Ohio State
5. Harvard
6. St. John's
7. Northwestern
8. Yale
9. Pennsylvania
10. Princeton

Others receiving votes (in order) – Stanford, Wayne State, Temple, Duke, UC San Diego, Air Force, NYU, Rutgers, North Carolina and Brown.

• • • • • •

2005 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 23)
MEN (previous poll)
1. Penn State (2)
2. Ohio State (1)
3. St. John's (3)
4. Notre Dame (4)
5. Columbia (5)
6. Harvard (8)
7. Princeton (6)
8. NYU (–)
9. Air Force (10)
10. Pennsylvania (7)

WOMEN (previous poll)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. Ohio State (1)
3. Penn State (3)
4. Harvard (4)
5. Columbia-Barnard (5)
6. Northwestern (6)
7. Pennsylvania (8)
8. Princeton (9)
9. Temple (10)
10. St. John's (–)

• • • • • •

2005 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 20)
MEN
1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. St. John's
4. Notre Dame
5. Columbia
6. Princeton
7. Pennsylvania
8. Harvard
9. Stanford
10. Air Force

WOMEN
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Penn State
4. Harvard
5. Columbia-Barnard
6. Northwestern
7. St. John's
8. Pennsylvania
9. Princeton
10. Temple

• • • • • •

2004 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 24)
MEN
1. Notre Dame
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. St. John's
5. Columbia
6.
7. Pennsylvania
8. Air Force
9. Harvard
10. NYU

WOMEN
1. Notre Dame
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Columbia-Barnard
5. Northwestern
6.
7. St. John's
8. Pennsylvania
9. Harvard
10. Temple

• • • • • •

2003 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb. 13)
MEN (previous poll)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. Penn State (1)
3. St. John's (3)
4. Ohio State (4)
5. Pennsylvania (9)
6. Princeton (5)
7. Columbia (7)
8. Harvard (8)
9. Air Force (–)
10. Stanford (6)

Also receiving votes – Yale, Duke, Rutgers, MIT, NYU, Cal State Fullerton, Wayne State, Boston College, North Carolina, Brown and Johns Hopkins.

WOMEN (previous poll)
1. Penn State (1)
2. St. John's (3)
3. Notre Dame (2)
4. Ohio State (4)
5. Columbia-Barnard (6)
6. Princeton (5)
7. Temple (8)
8. Northwestern (7)
9. Pennsylvania (10)
10. Harvard (–)

Also receiving votes – Stanford, Yale, Air Force, Rutgers, Brown, Wayne State, MIT, Brandeis, Duke, NYU, Cal State Fullerton and Boston College.

• • • • • •

2003 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 22)
MEN
1. Penn State
2. Notre Dame
3. St. John's
4. Ohio State
5. Princeton
6. Stanford
7. Columbia
8. Harvard
9. Pennsylvania
10. Yale

Also receiving votes – NYU, Rutgers, Brandeis, Air Force, Duke, Wayne State and North Carolina.

WOMEN
1. Penn State
2. Notre Dame
3. St. John's
4. Ohio State
5. Princeton
6. Columbia-Barnard
7. Northwestern
8.Temple
9. Yale
10. Pennsylvania

Also receiving votes – Stanford, Harvard, Rutgers, Brandeis, North Carolina, Duke, MIT and Brandeis.

• • • • • •

2002 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #3; March 11)

MEN (previous poll)
1. Notre Dame (1)
2. Penn State (3)
3. St. John's (2)
4. Columbia (4)
5. Ohio State (5)
6. Pennsylvania (7)
7. Princeton (6)
8. Stanford (8)
9. Yale (9)
10. NYU (10)

Others receiving votes – Air Force, Wayne State, MIT, Rutgers, Duke and Harvard.

WOMEN (previous poll)
1. St. John's (1)
2. Penn State (2)
3. Notre Dame (3)
4. Ohio State (4)
4. Northwestern (6)
6. Yale (7)
7. Temple (8)
8. Princeton (5)
9. Columbia-Barnard (9)
10. Pennsylvania (10)

Other receiving votes – Stanford, MIT, Rutgers, North Carolina, Air Force, Duke and Harvard.

• • • • • •

2002 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #2; Feb.. 21)

MEN (previous poll)
1. Notre Dame (2)
2. St. John's (1)
3. Penn State (3)
4. Columbia (5)
5. Ohio State (8)
6. Princeton (6)
7. Pennsylvania (9)
8. Stanford (4)
9. Yale (7)
10. NYU (–)

Others receiving votes – Air Force, Duke, Rutgers, MIT, Brandeis, North Carolina, Harvard, Brown and Wayne State

WOMEN (previous poll)
1. St. John's (1)
2. Penn State (3)
3. Notre Dame (2)
4. Ohio State (7)
5. Princeton (5)
6. Northwestern (6)
7. Yale (8)
8. Temple (10)
9. Columbia-Barnard (9)
10. Pennsylvania (–)

Other receiving votes – Stanford, North Carolina, Rutgers, Air Force, Duke, MIT, Cornell and NYU.

• • • • • •

2002 USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll (poll #1; Jan. 23)

MEN
1. St. John's
2. Notre Dame
3. Penn State
4. Stanford
5. Columbia
6. Princeton
7. Yale
8. Ohio State
9. Pennsylvania
10. Air Force

Others receiving votes – NYU, Wayne State, MIT, Rutgers, North Carolina, Duke, Brandeis, Brown and Harvard.

WOMEN
1. St. John's
2. Notre Dame
3. Penn State
4. Stanford
5. Princeton
6. Northwestern
7. Ohio State
8. Yale
9. Columbia-Barnard
10. Temple

Other receiving votes – Pennsylvania, MIT, Rutgers, Wayne State, Duke, North Carolina, NYU, Air Force, Harvard, Brandeis, Brown, Boston College and Cornell.

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