STANFORD, Calif. – With underclassman leading the way, the men's and women's fencing teams produced solid campaigns in 2015-16.
Four freshmen earned conference titles at the NCAA Western Regional Championships at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. First place winners included Sean Strong in men's epee, Jeffrey Dalli in men's sabre, Chantel Yang in women's epee and Carly Weber-Levine in women's sabre.
Additionally, six Stanford fencers secured all-conference honors. Darren Mei placed second and Andre Cornman third in men's foil; David Beam finished third in men's sabre; Christie Dawson was third in women's foil; Belinda Mo took second in women's epee; and Valerie Garcia garnered third in women's sabre.
"Four championships in six events is quite an accomplishment," head coach Lisa Posthumus said. "It says a lot about their dedication to the sport."
Seven student-athletes qualified for the 2016 National Collegiate Championships in Waltham, Massachusetts. Strong and Tristan Krueger competed in men's epee, Mei in men's foil, Dalli in men's sabre, Mo and Yang in women's epee, and Weber-Levine in women's sabre. All but Mei (sophomore) were freshmen.
The Cardinal finished 11th overall, with the men taking 11th and the women 14th. Columbia won the team title.
Individually on the men's side, Dalli placed 15th, Mei 23rd, Krueger 22nd and Strong 23rd.
Weber-Levine led the women by placing 22nd, while Mo and Yang earned 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
"Our fencers gained a lot of valuable experience at the championships this year and we are looking forward to the future," said Posthumus.
Regular season highlights included a 5-0 sweep by the men at the Western Invitational and Western Fencing Conference Championships in San Diego. Top finishers were Strong (5-1), freshman Gabe Weininger (5-5), sophomore Harrison MacRae (9-3) and Krueger (8-2) in epee; Dalli (10-2), freshman Royce Wang (9-3), freshman Jose Recinto (8-3) and senior Beam (6-4) in sabre; and senior Justin Lee (9-0), junior Stephen Aman (9-1), sophomore Corman (7-3) and Mei (10-1) in foil.
The women wound up 4-2 to finish second and third, respectively. Standouts included sophomore Rebecca Rose (9-5), Mo (5-2), Yang (9-4) and freshman Adrienne Yang (5-7) in epee; junior Alex Rohan (7-4), Weber-Levine (14-2), Garcia (13-9) and freshman Claire Zau (3-2) in sabre, and sophomore Cindy Torma (7-11), freshman Anna Widder (7-11) and Dawson (10-8) in foil.
The Cardinal also competed at the Northwestern Duals in South Bend, Indiana. The men posted a 7-6 mark in the 13-team event, while the women finished 5-9 in the 14-team competition.