CF360

COLLEGE FENCING 360.com

Rankings updated in text below (as of Feb. 8, 2019 – poll #2 of 4 for 2019 season)

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• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN
• Annual Poll Summary Pages (2019 in text below):  2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each 2018–19 college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events

• • • • •

Note: ONLY 10 TEAMS ARE RANKED (rest are receiving votes; reference as "received 12th-most votes" etc., but not #12).
** photos on this page courtesy of the schools **

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CollegeFencing360 COACHES POLL #2 – Feb. 8, 2019          
Contact: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

(2/8/19) – Two-time defending NCAA fencing champion NOTRE DAME retained the No. 1 spot in both the men’s and women’s polls, in the second 2019 release of the CollegeFencing360 National Coaches Polls. The ND men nearly lost the top spot, following one of the closest three-team balloting finishes at the top of the rankings in the history of the coaches poll. The Irish men received 135 of the maximum 150 voting points, a mere one point ahead of co-No. 2s/Ivy League rivals Columbia and Harvard (134 pts each), The ND women again were a near-unanimous No. 1, with 148 voting points in the second poll of the 2018-19 season.

(scroll down to bottom of release for full poll listings)

The Notre Dame women received nine of the 10 first-place votes (Columbia received one), while the ND men were 1st on five of the ballots, followed by three for Columbia and two for surging Stanford (now back in the top–10, at #7).

>> The second edition of the 2019 CF360 coaching polls produced several historical notes:

• The #6 DUKE men – buoyed by a recent win over #1 Notre Dame – have matched their highest ranking in program history (they also were No. 6 in the final 2018 poll) ... and the #6 Duke women have climbed to their highest ranking in program history (#8 three times previously, including the initial 2019 poll). Led by 34th-year head coach Alex Beguinet, the Duke program steadily has inched its way up the national ladder and currently owns the 5th-most combind voting points (men+women) in the current coaches poll (191; trailing only ND, Columbia, Harvard and Penn State).

• The #7 STANFORD men (9–1 at Northwestern Duals: big win over #1 ND) have matched their highest ranking in 17 years, since being 4th in the first 2002 poll. The Cardinal men most recently were No. 7 in the first 2009 rankings and have not climbed higher than 9th since that ’09 season, in addition to being outside the top-10 entirely in seven of the past eight polls (stretching back to 2017).

The Notre Dame women (23-2) – who returned five of six competitors from their 2018 NCAA contingent – have lost only twice throughout the 2018-19 season: 10–17 vs. Penn State (Jan. 19, at the St. John’s Invitational) and 11–16  the next day vs. Columbia (at Penn fot the Philly Invitational). Since that loss, the ND women have rattled off 11 straight wins vs. varsity opponents, highlighted by five victories over current top–10 opponents, by an impressive combined margin of 87–48 (avg. score of 17–10): #2 Northwestern (15–12), #6 Duke (18–9), #7 Temple (17–10) #9 Penn (18–9) and #10 Princeton (19–8).

The Notre Dame women (23-2) – who returned five of six competitors from their 2018 NCAA contingent – have lost only twice throughout the 2018-19 season: 10–17 vs. Penn State (Jan. 19, at the St. John’s Invitational) and 11–16  the next day vs. Columbia (at Penn fot the Philly Invitational). Since that loss, the ND women have rattled off 11 straight wins vs. varsity opponents, highlighted by five victories over current top–10 opponents, by an impressive combined margin of 87–48 (avg. score of 17–10): #2 Northwestern (15–12), #6 Duke (18–9), #7 Temple (17–10) #9 Penn (18–9) and #10 Princeton (19–8).

ND’s Midwest rival, No. 2 Northwestern (35-3; 129 voting pts), maintined the highest ranking in its program history, with the other current top-5 teams (3rd–5th) including: Columbia (127; 13-6), Penn State (115; 16-6) and Harvard (105; 10-3). The following five teams round out the women’s top-10 (6th-10th): Duke (93; 16-4), Temple (84; 18-7), Ohio State (105; 18-11), U-Penn (78; 12-11) and Princeton (73; 10-10). The top-4 spots remain unchanged from the initial poll, while Harvard moved up two spots from No. 5; Duke jumped from 8th to 6th; and Temple from 10th to 7th. Conversely, two teams slid down within the top-10: Ohio State (5th to 8th) and Princeton (6th to 10th), with Penn standing firm at No. 9.

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Two of Northwestern’s three losses have come vs. Notre Dame: 11–16 in mid-November, and 12–15 last week at the Wildcats’ home tournament (where they also lost a 13–14 decision against Temple). In its past two tournaments, TEMPLE also owns top-10 wins over Ohio State (2), Penn and Princeton, plus other notable victories vs. Air Force, North Carolina, Stanford and UC San Diego. Temple’s strong junior sabre duo, comprised of Northwest natives Kerry Plunkett (West Linn, Ore.) and Malia Hee (Vancouver, Wash.), has played a key role in the team’s recent success, as have senior epeeist Ally Micek (Houston, Texas), senior foilist Auset Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) and junior epeeist Callie Simmons (Bellaire, Texas). Other top Temple fencers in 2018-19 have included freshman foilist Aryana Abtin (Hillsboro, Ore.) and senior epeeist Fiona Fong (Warren, N.J.).

The #6 DUKE women climbed to their highest ranking in program history, following recent wins over current #7 Temple (17–10), #8 Ohio State (18–9), #9 Penn (14–13) and #10 Princeton (17–10), in addition to beating the likes of Air Force, Stanford and UCSD. Duke’s recent leaders have included: the freshman epee duo Ava Navarro (Frenchtown, N.J.) and Huda Aldrahah (Peoria, Ill.); senior foilist Rhiannon Harvey (Norfolk, Va.); sophomore foilist Julia Gianneschi (Atlanta, Ga.); and sabre junior Lindsay Sapienza (Bardonia, N.Y.).

On the men’s side, in additon to Notre Dame (18-5), Columbia (14-3) and Harvard (9-2), the rest of the current top-5 includes #4 Penn State (114 voting pts; 14-6) and #5 Princeton (103; 14-4). In the initial 2019 poll, the 2nd thru 5th order was Harvard, PSU, Columbia and Princeton.The balance of the updated men’s top-10 includes (6th–10th): Duke (98; 14-4), Stanford (96; 14-1), Yale (72; 14-4), Ohio State (69; 11-15) and  Penn (67; 14-8). St. John’s had been 8th in the initial 2019 poll, but the Red Storm now have fallen outside the top-10 for the first time since 2004 (the SJU women have been outside the top-10 for five straight polls and seven of the past eight rankings, after sitting in the top-10 every year from 2010-17).

The jumps from the Duke men (10th to 6th) and Stanford (11th-most votes to 7th) pushed Yale down from 6th to 8th; Ohio State from 7th to 9th; and Penn from 9th to 10th. DUKE’s surge has included recent wins over current #1 Notre Dame (14–13), #7 Stanford (17–10), #9 Ohio State (18–9 and )#10 Penn (16–11), along with notable victories vs. Air Force and UCSD. Despite that loss to Duke, STANFORD rolled to a 9–1 record at the Northwestern Duals, highlighted by wins over #1 ND (15–12), #5 Princeton (18–9), #9 OSU (14–13) and #10 Penn (16–11), plus other key wins vs. Air Force and North Carolina. 

Stanford’s strong showing at Northwestern was paced by three of its season-long leaders: freshman foilist Julian Cheng (Lexington, Mass.); senior epee All-American Sean Strong (Goleta, Calif.); and sabre junior Samuel Kwong (Los Altos Hills, Calif.). Sophomore foilist Lucas Orts (Burlingame, Calif.) also has delivered some key wins for the Cardinal in 2018-19. Duke’s recent leaders have included: junior foil All-American Eoin Gronningsater (Brooklyn, N.Y.); senior epee All-American Brynn Hammarberg (Maplewood, N.J.); sophomore foilist Brycen Rushing (Carrollton, Texas); and sabre sophomore Ping Ping Kitsiriboon (Bangkok, Thailand).

>> Based on combined voting points (men + women), Notre Dame was the clear leader in the current polling (283 out of the max. 300 points) … followed by:
(2) Columbia (261) … (3) Harvard (239) … (4) Penn State (229)
(5) Duke (191) … (6) Princeton (176) … (7) Ohio State (151)
(8) Penn (145) … (9) Stanford (107) … (10) Yale  (105) … (11) St. John’s (103)

Notre Dame will be attempting to become the first school in nearly 20 years to win the NCAA Combined Men's and Women's Championship in three consecutive years ... since Penn State won five straight titles at the end of the 20th century (from 1995-2000).

• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN
• Annual Poll Summary Pages:  
2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each 2018–19 college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events

… Here are NOTABLE RECENT RESULTS (Jan. 20 – Feb. 3):
> MEN (losses by teams receiving votes in coaches poll; Jan. 20 – Feb. 3) <
• Princeton 17, Notre Dame 10 … Penn 14, ND 13 … Duke 14, ND 13 … Stanford 15, ND 12
• Penn State 15, Columbia 12 … Yale 16, Columbia 11 … Notre Dame 18, Columbia 9
• Columbia 14, Harvard 13 … Notre Dame 15, Harvard 12
• Harvard 14, Penn State 13 … Notre Dame 15, Penn State 12 … Columbia 16, Penn State 11
• Ohio State 15, Princeton 12 … Stanford 18, Princeton 9
• Princeton 14, Duke 13
• Duke 17, Stanford 10
• NYU 14, Yale 13 … Notre Dame 17, Yale 10
• ND 19, Ohio State 8 … St. John’s 14, OSU 13 … Columbia 14, OSU 13 … Harvard 15, OSU 12 … Penn St 16, OSU 11
… Yale 17, OSU 10 … Coumbia 18, OSU 9 … Penn 18, OSU 9 … Stanford 14, OSU 13 … Air Force 16, OSU 11 … Duke 18, OSU 9
• Duke 14, Penn 13 … Columbia 15, Penn 12 … Ohio State 15, Penn 12
• Columbia 15, St. John’s 12 … Penn State 18, SJU 9 … Notre Dame 15, SJU 12 … Harvard 17, SJU 10
• Stanford 15, North Carolina 12 … Ohio St 14, UNC 13 … Air Force 15, UNC 12 … UCSD 14, UNC 13

• Ohio State 15, NYU 12 … Northwestern 19, NYU 8 … UNC 14, NYU 13
… Penn 16, NYU 11 … Penn 14, NYU 13 ... Yale 14, NYU 13 ... Harvard 23, NYU 4
• Notre Dame 19, UC San Diego 8 … North Carolina 16, UCSD 11 … Ohio St 19, UCSD 8
… Penn 15, UCSD 12… Duke 17, UCSD 10
• Penn 19, Air Force 8 … Princeton 21, AFA 6 … ND 18, AFA 6 … Stanford 15, AFA 12
• NJIT 19, Boston College … NYU 18, BC 9
• Boston College 16, Stevens Tech 11
• Sacred Heart 14, Brown 13 … Duke 19, Brown 8 … UNC 21, Brown 6
… Penn 22, Brown 5 … NYU 21, Brown 6 … MIT 19, Brown 8
… NJIY 20, Brown 7 … NYU 18, Brown 9 …. Hav. 16, Brown 11 … Stevens 15, Brown 12
• Stevens Tech 22, Drew 5

<< Columbia senior foilist Nolen Scrugs (pictured; Ozone Park, N.Y.) – who finished as the 2017 NCAA runner-up – joins junior Sam Moels (2018 NCAA runner-up) and sophomore Sidarth Kumbla (2018 NCAA semifinalist) in giving the Lions a rare trio of former NCAA semifinalists in the same weapon … helping lift the Columbia men into a share for 2nd in the current coaches poll (tied with Ivy League rival Harvard).

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> WOMEN (losses by teams receiving votes in coaches poll; Jan. 20 – Feb. 3) <
• Columbia 16, Notre Dame 11
• Notre Dame 15, Northwestern 12 … Temple 14, Northwestern 13
• Penn State 14, Columbia 13 … Penn 15, Columbia 12 … Ohio State 14, Columbia 13 … Harvard 14, Columbia 13
… Notre Dame 16, Columbia 11 … Northwestern 14, Columbia 13
• Columbia 15, Penn State 12 … Ohio State 15, Penn State 12
• Penn State 15, Harvard 12 … Notre Dame 19, Harvard 8
• Notre Dame 18, Duke 9 … Northwestern 14, Duke 13

• Northwestern 15, Temple 12 … Columbia 17, Temple 10 … Notre Dame 17, Temple 10 … Duke 17, Temple 10
• ND 18, Ohio St 9 … St. John’s 13, OSU 8 … Harvard 15, OSU 12 … Temple 15, OSU 12
… Columbia 19, OSU 8 … Northwestern 14, OSU 13 … Princeton 19, OSU 8
… Temple 18, OSU 9 … Duke 18, OSU 9
• Duke 14, Penn 13 … Ohio State 14, Penn 13 … Temple 16, Penn 11
… Northwestern 18, Penn 9 … Notre Dame 18, Penn 9
• Northwestern 16, Princeton 11 … Notre Dame 19, Princeton 8 … Duke 17, Princeton 10
… Air Force 14, Princeton 13 … UCSD 14, Princeton 13 … Temple 19, Princeton 8
• Columbia 18, St. John’s 9 … Penn State 16, SJU 11 … Notre Dame 19, SJU 8
… Harvard 17, SJU 10
• ND 21, Yale 6 … Penn 15, Yale 12 … Northwestern 18, Yale 9
• Penn 17, Air Force 10 … Notre Dame 15, AFA 12 … Duke 21, AFA 6
… Ohio State 16, AFA 11 … Temple 19, AFA 8
• Air Force 18, North Carolina 9 … Temple 19, UNC 8
• Ohio St 23, Stanford 4 … Penn 16, Stanford 11 … Princeton 14, Stan. 13
… UNC 15, Stanford 12 … Temple 16, Stanford 11 … Duke 19, Stanford 8
• Notre Dame 15, UC San Diego 12 … Ohio State 18, UCSD 9 … Penn 15, UCSD 12
… Duke 15, UCSD 12 … Princeton 14, UCSD 13 … Temple 17, UCSD 10
• NYU 15, Brown 12 … Stevens Tech 17, Brown 10
• ND 22, Wayne State 5 … Northwestern 23, WSU 4 …Incarnate Word 17, WSU 10 
… UCSD 15, WSU 12 … UNC 22, WSU 5 … Duke 24, WSU 3 … Princeton 18, WSU 9
• Harvard 24, Wellesley 3

The Notre Dame men now have been ranked atop the the poll 18 times in their history, narrowly ahead of longtime rival Penn State (17) for the most times ranked No. 1. Other men's programs to hold down the top ranking – among 64 total men’s teams ranked No. 1 dating back to the 2001 season – include Ohio State (12), Columbia (11), Harvard (2), St. John's (2), Stanford (1) and U-Penn (1). These totals include three polls in which there were co-#1s.

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The Notre Dame women have been ranked No. 1 in mor than half (30 of 59) of the women’s college fencing polls dating back to 2002. The Penn State women are a distant second, having been top-ranked nine times, followed by Princeton (8), Columbia (8; all over the past five seasons), Ohio State (3), and St. John’s (3), with these totals including two polls with co-#1s.

The college fencing coaches polls are determined by votes from 10 collegiate men’s fencing coaches and 10 from the women’s side. The poll is sponsored by the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) and co-sponsored/administered by Pete LaFleur of CollegeFencing360.com (CF360). The third 2019 poll will be in early March and then the final poll in mid-March (prior to the 2019 NCAA Championships).

The full initial 2019 CF360 Fencing Coaches Polls follow below (including all teams receiving votes). 

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Polls #2 (Feb. 8, 2019)

MEN  (first-place votes – Notre Dame 5, Harvard 3, Stanford 2)
(school (dual-meet record vs. varsity opp.) – voting points … initial 2019 ranking)
1. Notre Dame (18-5) – 135 voting pts … (#1 in initial 2019 poll)  
t-2. Columbia (14-3) – 134 … (4)  
t-2. Harvard (9-2) – 134 … (2)
4. Penn State (14-6) – 114 … (3)  
5. Princeton (14-4) – 103 … (5)  
6. Duke (14-4) – 98 … (10)  
7. Stanford (14-1) … 96 … [11]
8. Yale (14-4) – 72 … (6)  
9. Ohio State (11-15) – 69 … (7)
10. Pennsylvania (14-8) – 67 … (9)

Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – St. John’s (#8 in inttial 2019 poll), North Carolina (31), NYU (30), NJIT (28),  UC San Diego (15), Air Force (13), Boston College (3), Stevens Tech (2), Brown (1) and Drew (1).

WOMEN  (first-place votes – Notre Dame 8, Columbia 2)
(school (dual-meet record vs. varsity opp.) – voting points … initial 2019 ranking)
1. Notre Dame (23-2) – 148 voting pts … (#1 in initial 2019 poll) 
2. Northwestern (35-3) – 129 … (2) 
3. Columbia (13-6) – 127 … (3) 
4. Penn State (16-6) – 115 … (4) 
5. Harvard (10-3) – 105 … (7) 
6. Duke (16-4) – 93 … (8) 
7. Temple (18-7) – 84 … (10)
8. Ohio State (18-11) – 105 … (5) 
9. Pennsylvania (12-11) – 78 … (9)
10. Princeton (10-10) – 73 … (6)   

Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – St. John's (49), Yale (33), Air Force (27), North Carolina (16), Cornell (12), Stanford (11), Boston College (8), UC San Diego (7), Brown (1), Wayne State (1) and Wellesley (1). 

Voting Panel – Michael Aufrichtig (Columbia), Alex Beguinet (Duke), Brendan Doris-Pierce (Boston College; votes on men’s poll only), Nikki Franke (Temple; votes on women's poll only), Bruce Gilman (Vassar), Wes Glon (Penn State), Gia Kvaratskhelia (Notre Dame), Andy Ma (Penn; votes on men’s poll only), Steve Mormando (NYU), Zach Moss (Northwestern), Josh Runyan (UC San Diego) and Daria Schneider (Cornell; votes on women’s poll only).

Poll Notes: coach Doris-Pierce and coach Ma vote only on the men’s poll, while coach Franke and coach Schneider vote only on the women’s poll. There typically are 10 voters for each poll – four from the Northeast Region, three from the Mid-Atlantic/South Region, two from the Midwest Region and one from the West Region. 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, 14 in the Mid-Atlantic/South, 7 in the Midwest and 5 in the West … 10 of these schools sponsor only a varsity women’s fencing team: CCNY, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Post, Northwestern, Temple, Tufts, Wagner and Wellesley.

• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN

• Seasonal Poll Summary Pages (2019 below):  
2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each 2018–19 college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events

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CollegeFencing360 COACHES POLL #1 – Jan. 18, 2019          
Contact: Pete LaFleur (editor@collegefencing360.com)
(all content courtesy of College Fencing 360; please credit and link accordingly)

Men – Notre Dame, Harvard, Penn St, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Ohio St, St. John’s, Penn & Duke
Women – ND, Northwestern, Columbia, Penn St, Ohio St, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Penn & Temple

(1/18/19) – Two-time defending NCAA fencing champion NOTRE DAME has earned the No. 1 spot in both the men’s and women’s polls, in the first 2019 release of the CollegeFencing360 National Coaches Polls, as teams prepare to enter into the bulk of the 2018-19 season. The ND women once again are a near-unanimous No. 1 (149 voting points, out of 150 maximum), while the Irish men (147) also nearly received the max. 150 points. 

(scroll down to bottom of release for full poll listings)
• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN
• Seasonal Poll Summary Pages (2019 below):  
2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events

The Notre Dame men and women each received all but one of the 10 first-place votes, with the others earned by the Columbia women and Harvard men.

Notre Dame will be attempting to become the first school in nearly 20 years to win the NCAA Combined Men's and Women's Championship in three consecutive years ... since Penn State won five straight titles from 1995-2000.

>> The initial 2019 polls produced several historical notes:
• The NORTHWESTERN women check in at No. 2 for the highest ranking in program history, besting the Wildcats #3 ranking in mid-2010 (the second of three polls that year; coaches poll began in 2001).
• The YALE men are ranked No. 6, marking the highest ranking for the Yale men in the 19-year history of the coaches poll ... and it's the first top–10 ranking for the Yale men since being 10th in mid-2012.
• The DUKE women have earned the No. 8 position – that program’s highest ranking since 2008 & matching Duke's highest ranking in the 19-year history of the women's coaches poll (the Duke women previously were #8 in the final 2006 & '08 polls). The Duke men were No. 6 in the final 2018 poll, establishing their highest ranking in the history of the men's poll.
• This marks the 29th time that the NOTRE DAME women have been ranked No. 1 in the 19-year history of the coaches poll (most all-time, followed by nine for Penn State) ... and the ND men now have been top-ranked 18 times (first all time, followed by PSU's 17).M

AfterAfter Notre Dame and Northwestern (22–1; 131 voting pts), the rest of the initial women’s top-5 includes: Columbia (121; 8-2), Penn State (117; 13-4) and Ohio State (105; 8-2). The following five teams round out the women’s top-10 (6th-10th): Princeton (86; 5-4), Harvard (85; 6-1), Duke (80; 4-2), U-Penn (74; 3-6) and Temple (69; 6-3). The Yale women had been No. 9 in the final 2018 poll but received the 12th-most votes in the initial 2019 balloting.

The Harvard men (133; 5-0) – after finishing fifth in the final 2018 poll – have opened 2019 in the No. 2 position, followed closely by Penn State (131; 12-3), Columbia (120; 8-2) and Princeton (104; 6-2). And the balance of the initial men’s top-10 includes (6th–10th): Yale (89; 8-2), Ohio State (88; 4-4), St. John’s (81; 4-1), Penn (73; 4-5) and Duke (62; 2-3). The NYU men had been 10th in the final 2018 poll but received the 13th-most votes in the initial 2019 rankings.

Based on combined voting points, Notre Dame was nearly unanimous (296 out of the max. 300 points) … followed by: (2) Penn State (248) … (3) Columbia (241)
… (4) Harvard (218) … (5) Ohio State (193) …  (6) Princeton (190) … (7) Penn (147)
… (8) Duke (142) … (9) St. John’s (139) … (10) Yale  (134) … (11) Stanford (60)

The NOTRE DAME women now have been ranked No. 1 during each of the past five seasons and in 12 of the past 24 polls, dating back to 2013. The Irish women return five of their six fencers who competed in the 2018 NCAAs, led by three seniors who have reached at least one previous NCAA semifinal/medal round (top-4): longtime San Francisco-based Massialas Foundation foil club teammates Sabrina Massialas (’16 and ’18 semifinalist; 5th in '17) and Elyssa Kleiner (’18 semifinalist), along with epeeist Amanda Sirico (Bowie, MD; ’17 and ’18 NCAA semifinalist; did not fence for ND in ’16 while pursuing Olympic team spot). Kleiner surely would have more NCAA appearances to her credit if her career had not intersected with that of ND teammates Lee Kiefer (four-time NCAA champ) and Massialas.

Notre Dame’s two other women’s fencers who are back from the 2018 NCAA competitors include sabre senior Tara Hassett (Portland, Ore.; 12th at 2016 NCAAs, 15th in ’17 & 7th in ’18) along with so. epeeist Dasha Yefremenko (Manalpan, NJ; 23rd at ’18 NCAAs).

The ND men return only three of their six 2018 NCAA competitors … but they all have reached the semifinal/medal round in past NCAAs, led by so. foilist and 2018 NCAA champion Nick Itkin (Los Angeles). Itkin’s foil teammate Axel Kiefer (Lexington, KY) – younger brother of not only Lee Kiefer but also Alex Kiefer, who won the 2011 NCAA women’s foil title while fencing for Harvard – was an NCAA semifinalist in both 2016 and ’18, while also placing 8th in ’17. Junior men’s epeeist Ariel Simmons(Bellaire, TX) also is a two-time NCAA semifinalist.

The NORTHWESTERN women have earned their program’s highest ranking thanks to a 21-1 start to the season and four fencers with NCAA Tournament experience, spanning all three weapons: so. foilist Sarah Filby (Edina, MN; 10th at ’18 NCAAs) …  jr. epeeist Pauline Hamilton (Colorado Springs, Colo.; 15th at ’17 NCAAs; 11th in ‘18) … sr. foilist Yvonne Chart (Truro, United Kingdom; 12th at ’18 NCAAs) … and sabre grad. student Emine Yucel (Istanbul, Turkey; 18th at ’18 NCAAs).

Northwestern’s near-perfect, 22-1 start to the 2018-19 season includes four top-10 wins, over #4 Penn State, #5 Ohio State and #6 Princeton (each 15-12), plus #9 Penn (14-13). The Wildcats also own notable 2018-19 wins over Air Force (18-9), Cornell (19-8; 18-9), Stanford (20-7), North Carolina (14-13), Wellesley (22-5) and Stevens Tech (16-11) … while their lone loss has come against top-ranked Notre Dame, 11-16, 

The HARVARD men boast six different fencers with NCAA Tournament experience, led by 2018 Olympian, recent world No. 1 and two-time NCAA sabre champion Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, MA; ’17 & ’18 champ, also ’15 semifinalist). The Crimson also return three other fencers from their 2018 NCAA entrants, each of them past All-Americans (top-12): so. foilist Geoffrey Tourette (Cupertino, CA; 7th at ’18 NCAAs) … sabre jr. Erwin Cai (Marietta, GA; 12th at ’17 NCAAs; 8th at ’18 NCAAs) … and jr. foilist George Haglund(Califon, NJ; 7th at ’17 NCAAs; 16th in ’18). Two other Harvard veterans qualified for the 2017 NCAAs (but not in ’18): sr. epee All-American Albert Chien (Hong Kong; 7th at ’17 NCAAs) and jr. foilist Matthew Branman (Villanova, PA; 17th at ’17 NCAAs).

Update – Dershwitz will not be cometing in the 2019 NCAA Northeast Regional (and thus will not be seeking a third straight NCAA title), due to a World Cup scheduling conflict, as he seeks to retain his No. 1 world ranking. Another 2018 NCAA sabre champion – Princeton’s Maia Chamberlain (Menlo Park, Calif.) – has opted not to fence collegiately in 2019, as she pursues her own 2020 Olympic dream.

In addition to Itkin and Dershwitz, two other 2018 NCAA champions have been back in the mix this season: Columbia sr. women’s foilist Iman Blow (Brooklyn, NY) and Princeton jr, women’s epeeist Catherine “Casia” Nixon (Los Angeles). Those four are the only former NCAA champions (including from 2015-17) active in collegiate fencing during the 2018-19 season, although Dershwitz will not be defending his title.

>> The following current fencers also are previous NCAA semifinalist (top-four) finishers (several others menioned above):

… Additional Past NCAA Runner-Ups (active in 2019):
• 2018 – Penn State so. women’s sabre fencer Zara Moss (Cranberry Township, Pa.)
• 2017 – Penn  sr. men’r epeeist Justin Yoo (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• 2016 – Princeton sr. women’s epeeist Charlene Liu (Bridgewater, N.J.)
• 2015 – Penn State sr. women's sabre fencer Karen Chang (Hong Kong; also ’18 semifinalist) 

… Additional Past NCAA Semifinalists (active in 2019):
• 2018 – Ohio State jr. men’s sabre fencer Domenik Koch (Dormagen, Germany) 
• 2018 – Yale jr. men’s epeeist Isaac Shelanski (Wahington, D.C.)  
• 2018 – Harvard so. women’s epeeist Cindy Gao (Toronto, Ontario)
• 2017 – St. John’s sr. men’s sabre fencer Ben Natanzon (Manalapan, NJ) 
• 2017 – Columbia sr. men’s foilist Nolen Scruggs (Ozone Park, N.Y.) 
• 2017 – Princeton  sr. men’r epeeist Wesley Johnson (Pleasant View, Utah)

• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN
• Annual Poll Summary Pages (2019 on this page):  
2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each 2018–19 college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events

… Here are notable results so far from the 2018-19 college fencing season (prior to Jan. 19 events):

> MEN (losses by teams receiving votes in coaches poll) <
• Princeton 15, Penn State 12 … Harvard 15, Penn State 12 … ND 20, Penn State 7
• Yale 16, Columbia 11 … Penn State 15, Columbia 12
• North Carolina 14, Princeton 13 … Notre Dame 15, Princeton 12
• North Carolina 17, Yale 10 … Penn State 17, Yale 10
• Penn 16, Ohio St 11 … Princeton 16, OSU 11 … Penn St 14, OSU 13 … ND 19, OSU 8
• Yale 14, St. John’s 13
• Duke 14, Penn 13..Col. 20, Penn 7..PS 14, Penn 13..PS 14, Penn 13..ND 19, Penn 8
• Yale 14, Duke 13 … Columbia 15, Duke 12 … Penn State 15, Duke 12
• Penn 17, North Carolina 10 … Penn 17, UNC 10 … Ohio State 17, UNC 10 … OSU 17, UNC 10 … Yale 20, UNC 7
… Columbia 17, UNC 10 … Penn State 21, UNC 6 … Notre Dame 19, UNC 8
• Princeton 16, NYU 11 … Columbia 18, NYU 9 … Penn State 20, NYU 7 … Harvard 19, NYU 8
• NYU 15, NJIT 12..Prin. 20, NJIT 7..Col. 15, NJIT 12..PSU 19, NJIT 8..Harv. 20, NJIT 7
• Stanford 18, Air Force 9
• St. John’s 19, Boston College 8 … Yale 15, BC 12
• Sacred Heart 15, Brown 12 … Boston College 19, Brown 8 … Boston College 18, Brown 9 … North 
• Carolina 21, Brown 6 … St. John’s 21, Brown 6
• Johns Hopkins 17, Stevens Tech 10 … Columbia 16, Stevens Tech 11
• Air Force 15, UC San Diego 12 … Stanford 20, UCSD 7

> WOMEN (losses by teams receiving votes in coaches poll) <
• Notre Dame 16, Northwestern 11
• Penn 15, Columbia 12 … Penn State 14, Columbia 13
• Duke 14, Penn St 13…Ohio St 14, PSU 13…Northwestern 15, PSU 12…ND 16, PSU 11
• Northwestern 15, Ohio State 12 … Notre Dame 17, Ohio State 10
• Ohio St 16, Princeton 11 … PSU 16, Prin. 11…Northwestern 15, Prin. 12…ND 20, Prin. 7
• Penn State 15, Harvard 12
• Temple 15, Duke 12 … Columbia 17, Duke 10
• UNC 17, Penn 10 … Duke 18, Penn 9 … Penn State 16, Penn 11 … PSU 17, Penn 10
… Ohio State 14, Penn 13 … Northwestern 14, Penn 13
• Harvard 16, Temple 11 … Penn State 19, Temple 8 … Columbia 19, Temple 8
• Yale 14, St. John’s 13
• Temple 14, Yale 13 … Duke 19, Yale 8 … Penn State 20, Yale 7 … Columbia 20, Yale 7
• Northwestern 18, Air Force 9
• UNC 14, Cornell 13 … UNC 16, Cornell 11 … St.J 19, Cornell 8 … Prin. 15, Cornell 12
… OSU 15, Cor. 12 … PSU 19, Cor. 8 … Northwestern 19, Cor. 8 … N'western 18, Cor. 9
• Air Force 15, Stanford 12 … Northwestern 20, Stanford 7
• Yale 14, UNC 13 ... Yale 21, UNC 6 ... Cornell 17, UNC 10 ... Penn 15, UNC 12
... Princeton 15, UNC 12 … Ohio St 14, UNC 13 .., OSU 18, UNC 9 … PSU 18, UNC 9
… Columbia 17, UNC 10 … Northwestern 14, UNC 13 … ND 22, UNC 5
• Stanford 14, UC San Diego 13 … Air Force 15, UC SD 12 ... Northwestern 16, UCSD 11
• Brown 14, Wellesley 13 … Stev. Tech 14, Wellesley 13 … BC 15, Wellesley 12 … Harv. 24, Wellesley 3
• Johns Hopkins 14, Stevens Tech 13 … Columbia 20, Stev. Tech 7 … Northwestern 16, Stev. Tech 11
• Drew 15, NJIT 12 … Johns Hopkins 16, NJIT 11 … Wellesley 20, NJIT 7 … Columbia 26, NJIT 1
• Brown 16, Boston College 11 … Cornell 15, BC 12 … Yale 16, BC 11 … St. John’s 17, BC 10

(Note: there are several notable college fencing tournaments on the weekend of Jan. 19-20; look for details soon on CF360 and also on Twitter via @CF360updates).

The 2019 opening polls mark the 12th time in the 18-year history of the college fencing coaches polls that one school has been No. 1 in both the men's and women's initial rankings for that season. In the 11 previous times, that school went on to win the NCAA Combined Men's and Women's Fencing Championship only four times, in successive years from 2009–11 (Penn State twice, and then Notre Dame in 2011), and again last year in Notre Dame’s 2019 title.

Notre Dame and Penn State each have been #1 in both initial polls during four different seasons, followed by two times for Ohio State and one each for St. John's and Columbia. The 11 previous times that a school has been #1 in both initial polls have seen those schools go on to win the NCAA title four times while finishing runner-up three other times and 3rd-place three times as well. Penn State's 2012 men's and women's teams both were initial #1s, but the Nittany Lions ultimately finished fifth in the 2012 NCAAs.

• Schools ranked #1 in both men's and women's fencing (initial coaches polls):
2002 – St. John's (ultimately finished 2nd ... Penn State won NCAA title)
2003 – Penn State (finished 2nd ... Notre Dame won title)
2004 – Notre Dame (finished 3rd ... Ohio State won title)
2005 – Ohio State (finished 2nd ... ND won title)
2006 – Ohio State (finished 3rd ... Harvard won title)
2009 – Penn State (PSU won title)
2010 – Penn State (PSU won title)
2011 – Notre Dame (ND won title)
2012 – Penn State (finished 5th ... OSU won title)
2017 – Columbia (finished 3rd ... ND won title)
2018 – Notre Dame (ND won title)
2019 – Notre Dame (tbd)

The Notre Dame men have opened the past two seasons No. 1 in the fencing poll and the Irish men now have been ranked atop the the poll 18 times in their history, narrowly ahead of longtime rival Penn State (17) for the most times ranked No. 1. Other men's programs to hold down the top ranking – among 64 total men’s teams ranked No. 1 dating back to the 2001 season – include Ohio State (12), Columbia (11), Harvard (2), St. John's (2), Stanford (1) and U-Penn (1). These totals include three polls in which there were co-#1s.

The Notre Dame women have been ranked No. 1 in half (29 of 58) of the women’s college fencing polls dating back to 2002. The Penn State women are a distant second, having been top-ranked nine times, followed by Princeton (8), Columbia (8; all over the past five seasons), Ohio State (3), and St. John’s (3), with these totals including two polls with co-#1s.

The college fencing coaches polls are determined by votes from 10 collegiate men’s fencing coaches and 10 from the women’s side. The poll is sponsored by the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) and co-sponsored/administered by Pete LaFleur of CollegeFencing360.com (CF360). Updated polls will be released in late early Feb., early March and then finally in mid-March (prior to the 2019 NCAA Championships).

The full initial 2019 CF360 Fencing Coaches Polls follow below (including all rec. votes). 

CollegeFencing360 Coaches Polls #1 (Jan. 18, 2019)

MEN  (first-place votes – Notre Dame 9, Harvard 1)
(school (dual-meet record vs. varsity opp.) – voting points … final 2018 ranking)
1. Notre Dame (5-0) – 147 voting pts … (#3 in final 2018 poll)
2. Harvard (5-0) – 133 … (5)
3. Penn State (12-3) – 131 … (9)
4. Columbia (8-2) – 120 … (2)
5. Princeton (6-2) – 104 … (7)
6. Yale (8-2) – 89 … [12]
7. Ohio State (4-4) – 88 … (1)
8. St. John’s (4-1) – 81 … (8)
9. Pennsylvania (4-5) – 73 … (4)
10. Duke (2-3) – 62 … (6)

Men’s Teams Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – Stanford (43), North Carolina (36), NYU (33; #10 in final 2018 poll),
NJIT (23), Air Force (14), Boston College, Brown (5), Stevens Tech (5), UC San Diego & Wayne State (4).

WOMEN  (first-place votes – Notre Dame 9, Columbia 1)
(school (dual-meet record vs. varsity opp.) – voting points … final 2018 ranking)
1. Notre Dame (5-0) – 149 voting pts … (#2 in final 2018 poll)
2. Northwestern (22-1) – 131 ... (8)
3. Columbia (8-2) – 121 … (1)
4. Penn State (13-4) – 117 … (4)
5. Ohio State (8-2) – 105 … (3)
6. Princeton (5-4) – 86 … (6)
7. Harvard (6-1) – 85 … (5)
8. Duke (4-2) – 80 … [12] 
9. Pennsylvania (3-6) – 74 … (7)
10. Temple (6-3) – 69 … (10)

Also Receiving Votes (panel submits top-15) – St. John's (58), Yale (45: #9 in final 2018 poll), Air Force (22), Cornell (21), Stanford (17), North Carolina (6), UC San Diego (4),  Wellesley (4), Stevens Tech (3), NJIT (2), Boston College & Wayne State (1).

Voting Panel – Michael Aufrichtig (Columbia), Alex Beguinet (Duke), Brendan Doris-Pierce (Boston College; votes on men’s poll only), Nikki Franke (Temple; votes on women's poll only), Bruce Gilman (Vassar), Wes Glon (Penn State), Gia Kvaratskhelia (Notre Dame), Andy Ma (Penn; votes on men’s poll only), Steve Mormando (NYU), Zach Moss (Northwestern), Josh Runyan (UC San Diego) and Daria Schneider (Cornell; votes on women’s poll only).

Poll Notes: coach Doris-Pierce and coach Ma vote only on the men’s poll, while coach Franke and coach Schneider vote only on the women’s poll; there typically 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, 14 in the Mid-Atlantic/South, 7 in the Midwest and 5 in the West … nine of these schools sponsor only a varsity women’s fencing team: CCNY, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Post, Northwestern, Temple, Tufts, Wagner and Wellesley.

_______________________________________________

• College Fencing Poll History (PDF Spreadsheets):  MEN  |  WOMEN
• Annual Poll Summary Pages (2019 on this page):  
2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  2015  |  2014

• Full Schedule & Results for each 2018–19 college fencing team
• Full Listing of 2018–19 College Fencing Events