Columbia University
NCAA Championships
Smith and Spear Both Are All-Americans as Lions Finish Seventh at NCAA Fencing
3/28/2010 3:00:00 PM | Fencing
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Dwight Smith finished tied for third in men's epee and Jeff Spear was seventh in men's sabre as Columbia wrapped up competition at the 2010 NCAA Fencing Championships on Sunday.
After he ended day one in a virtual three-way tie for second place, Smith ended the round-robin competition in another dead heat for second place.
Smith, who won 10 of 14 bouts on Saturday, along with Nick Chinman and Viacheslav, won six of nine bouts on Sunday to finish with 16 victories. But two other fencers also posted 16 wins during the tournament -- Chinman and Air Force's Peter French, whose run knocked Zingerman, a three-time champion, out of the final round of four.
Smith ultimately was seeded fourth in the semifinal round due to having the least amount of indicators among the three fencers with 16 wins. He faced off against Marat Israelian of St. John's. Israelian defeated Smith in a hotly-contested bout, 15-9 and went on to win the competition with a 14-10 victory over French in the finals.
Smith still gained first team All-America honors for the first time in his career. He was a second team All-American in 2007.
Meanwhile, in men's sabre, Spear bounced back with a strong second day, winning six of his nine bouts after taking eight of 14 on day one.
Spear eventually finished with 14 victories, just two shy of reaching the semifinal round of four. He ended the competition in seventh place, earning second team All-american.
Spear gained second team All-American for the second straight year and is an All-American for the third straight year. He won the men's sabre weapon in 2008 as a sophomore.
On Friday night, Spear was presented with the NCAA Elite 88 award, founded by the NCAA, which recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.
The Elite 88 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 88 championships.
Penn State won the team competition for the second straight year, with 191 total victories, nine more than runner-up St. John's.
NCAA M&W Fencing Championships (Day Four)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Gordon Indoor Track, Harvard University
1. Penn State, 191; 2. St. John's, 182; 3. Notre Dame, 180; 4. Ohio State, 139; 5. Harvard, 137; 6. Princeton 135; 7. Columbia, 98; 8. Penn, 81; 9. Stanford, 70; 10. Duke, 59; 11. Northwestern, 53; 12. Air Force, 52; 13. Temple, 38; 14. Yale, 37; 15. Wayne State, 33; 16. NYU, 32; 17. UC San Diego, 22; 18. Sacred Heart, 20; 19. Cornell, 19; 20. North Carolina, 18; 21. Brown, 17; 22. Boston College, 16; 23. Vassar, 10; 24. Haverford, 7; 25. Brandeis, 6; 26. Cleveland State 3; 27. Cal Tech, 1.
Individual Standings (top four and Columbia fencers; All-Americans indicated)
Men's Sabre
1. Daryl Homer, St. John's
2. Daniel Bak, Penn State
T3. Aleksander Ochocki, Penn State
T3. Avery Zuck, Notre Dame
7. Jeff Spear, Columbia
Men's Foil
1. Gerek Meinhardt, Notre Dame
2. David Willette, Penn State
T3. Enzo Castellani, Notre Dame
T3. Miles Chamley-Watson, Penn State
Men's Epee
1. Marat Israelian, St. John's
2. Peter French, Air Force
T3. Dwight Smith, Columbia
T3. Nick Chinman, Penn State
ALL-AMERICANS (Columbia)
First Team: Dwight Smith
Second Team: Jeff Spear
Players Mentioned
