The NCAA men's epee competition concluded on Friday with more of the same, as Wayne State junior Slava Zingerman claimed his third NCAA title with a 15-7 win in the title bout versus Princeton sophomore Graham Wicas. Zingerman earlier had topped Harvard's fifth-year senior Benji Ungar (the '06 NCAA champ) in a 15-11 semifinal, while Wicas won a tense semifinal against Ohio State senior Jason Pryor (15-14).
(medal-stand photo to be added later)
Ohio State was the only team among the top contenders to produce two men's epee All-Americans, as freshman Igor Tolkachev placed 11th. Wayne State also had a pair of All-Americans (junior Mykhaylo Mazur took 9th), as did Air Forice – with sophomore Daniel Trapani (5th) and junior Peter French (7th).
The four medal-round fencers earned first team All-America status, with the second-teamers including Trapani, French, Penn State senior James Moody (6th), and Yale senior Michael Pearce (8th). Rounding out the All-Americans were third-teamers Mazur, Notre Dame senior Karol Kostka (10th), Tolkachev and Penn senior Ben Wieder.
Zingerman and Ungar (who also was 7th in '05) were the only men's epeeists to earn All-America honors for the third time. Four others became two-time All-Americans: Pryor (10th in '08), Pearce (5th in '06), Mazur (9th in '07) and Kostka (9th in '08).
Three former All-Americans failed to finish in the top-12 this time around: Columbia's Dwight Smith (7th in '06, 4th in '08), Stanley Vaksman of St. John's (7th in '07, 4th in '08) and Stanford senior Clayton Kenney (11th in '08).
Each of the top-4 hypothetical seeds lived up to that projection by reaching the medal round. Moody – a three-year NCAA Tournament – was seeded 19th but used a strong two days of bouting to finish 6th. Princeton's surging sophomore Mike Elfassy (#23 seed) nearly claimed All-America honors, while Columbia senior Lorenze Castertano (#21) also finished well above his seed and close to the top-12 (14th).
Vaksman (#10 seed; placed 19th) and Smith (#13 seed; placed 13th) finished well below their projected seed, while Stanford freshman Kevin Mo (17th) likewise ended up far below his anticipated finish.
2009 NCAA Fencing Men's Epee Final Standings
First-Team All-Americans
1. Slava Zingerman (Wayne State, Jr.; Ashkelon, Israel) ... 17-6/+32 ... (#2 seed) ... '07/'08 champ
2. Graham Wicas (Princeton, So.; Newtown Square, PA) ... 17-6/+33 ..... (#1 seed)
3. Benji Ungar (Harvard, Sr.; Bronx, NY) ... 15-8/+27 ... (#3 seed) ... 7th in '05, '06 champ
4. Jason Pryor (Ohio St., Sr.; So. Euclid, OH) ... 15-8/+24 ... (#4 seed) ... 17th-20th-10th in '06-'08
Second Team All-Americans
5. Daniel Trapani (Air Force, So.; Houston, TX) ... 14-9/+20 ..... (#9 seed)
6. James Moody (PSU, Sr.; Denver, CO) ... 14-9/+17 ..... (#19 seed) ..... 19th in '06, 17th in '08
7. Peter French (Air Force, Jr.; Austin, TX) ... 14-9/+13 ..... (#8 seed) ..... 14th in '07, 17th in '08
8. Michael Pearce (Yale, Sr.; San Fran., CA) ... 14-9/+3 ..... (#12 seed) ..... 5th-21st-13th in '06-'08
Third Team All-Americans
9. Mykhaylo Mazur (WSU, Jr.; Khmeinitskiy, Ukraine) ... 14-9/E ... (#14 seed) ... 9th in '07 (w/ OS)
10. Karol Kostka (ND, Sr.; Krakow, Poland) ... 13-10/+14 ... (#5 seed) ... 18th-11th-9th in '06-'08
11. Igor Tolkachev (Ohio State, Fr.; St. Petersburg, Russia) ... 13-10/+13 ..... (#7 seed)
12. Ben Wieder (Penn, Sr.; Westfield, NJ) ... 13-10/-3 ... (#15 seed) ... 17th in '07, 23rd in '08
Other Entrants
13. Mike Elfassy (Princeton, So.; Forest Hills, NY) ... 12-11/+4 ..... (#23 seed) ...
14. Lorenzeo Casertano (Columbia, Sr.; Towson, MD) ... 12-11/+4 ..... (#21 seed) ..... 15th in '08
15. Maxwell Dettlinger (Penn State, Jr.; Louisville, KY) ... 11-12/-4 ..... (#16 seed)
16. Clayton Kenney (STAN, Sr.; Denver, CO) ... 10-13/-2 ... (#11 seed) ... 20th-15th-11th in '06-'08
17. Kevin Mo (Stanford, Fr.; Irvine, CA) ... 10-13/-14 ..... (#6 seed) .....
18. Greg Schoolcraft (Notre Dame, So.; San Jose, CA) ... ..... (#18 seed) .....
19. Stanley Vaksman (SJU, Sr..; Woodmere, NY) ... 8-15/-17 ... (#10 seed) ... 7th in '07, 4th in '08
20. Jonathan Parker (Duke, Fr.; Austin, TX) ... 8-15/-20 ..... (#22 seed) .....
21. Nicholas Vomero (St. John's, Fr.; Centerport, NY) ... 7-16/-18 ..... (#20 seed) .....
22. Dwight Smith (Columbia, Sr.; Elmont, NY) ... 7-16/-20 ..... (#13 seed) ..... 7th in '06, 4th in '07
23. Karl Harmenberg (Harvard, Jr.; Stockholm, Sweden) ... 6-17/-31 ..... (#17 seed)
24. Alex Cohen (Yale, Fr.; Chevy Chase, MD) ... 3-20/-55 ..... (#24 seed)