COLUMBUS, Ohio - Alexander Massialas claimed his second NCAA men’s foil title yesterday at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
From start to finish, Massialas was, without question, the man to beat. After the first round, in which all 24 men's foil competitors faced each other, Massialas compiled a near perfect record, winning 22 out of 23 bouts.
As the number one seed going into the knockout rounds, Massialas defeated Ariel DeSmet of Notre Dame in the semifinals and Nobuo Bravo of Penn State to ultimately take the crown.
“I just wanted to stay focused on each bout at hand,” said Massialas, who scored the most touches and surrendered the least in the round-robin. “With such a long first round, you really just need to take it one by one and forget about the past.”
For Massialas though, there was not much to forget at all about the two day span which saw him ultimately win 24 out of 25 bouts.
Two years ago as a freshman, Massialas won his first NCAA men’s foil championship. Last year though, he stumbled to a disappointing third place finish.
“I definitely wanted to win this one after placing third last year,” said Massialas. “I am competitive by nature so I just want to win regardless."
Massialas becomes the fourth Cardinal fencer to win multiple NCAA championships, joining the ranks of Nick Bravin (1990, 1992, and 1993 men’s foil), Felicia Zimmerman (1998, 1999 women’s foil), and Felix Reichling (1999, 2000 men’s foil).
“It feels great to be a part of Stanford’s athletic history; sometimes I get baffled by the amount of talent we have here at Stanford, whether it be current students or alumni.”
Last week, Massialas competed in the Havana Grand Prix in Havana, Cuba. After a second place finish there and his heroics at the national championships though, Massialas has even bigger ambitions.
“The win definitely helps boost my confidence going into qualifications for the Olympics due to the fact that it comes right after a very successful weekend on the international circuit.”
Massialas is keen to become the third Stanford fencer to compete in multiple Olympic games after fencing in the 2012 London games. Aware of the company with which he now resides, the two-time national champion is happy to be a part of Stanford’s rich history of excellence.
“There are so many amazing athletes and teams in the history of Stanford. It just feels great to be a part of it; making a name for myself is just a bonus.”
