UNIVERSITY PLACE, Pa. – Stanford's Donghwan Park and Calvin Zau remain in contention after their performances in the men's sabre on the first day of the National Collegiate Fencing Championships on Thursday.
Park, a freshman, and Zau, a sophomore, each went 8-7 and stand 10th and 11th in the field of 24. Park has the edge over his teammate based on his plus-12 point differential to Zau's plus-7. Each has eight bouts Friday in the hopes of finishing among the top four and advancing to the semifinals.
Park pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far with a 5-1 victory over Penn State's Clement Perrier, who at 13-2 is tied for the best record. Park also beat sixth-place Spencer Kuldell of Boston College, 5-2, and ninth-place Stephen Kim of Duke, 5-0.
Zau had one victory over a fencer ahead in the standings, 5-2 over UC San Diego's seventh-place Justin Cho, and was consistent against opponents lower in the standings.
Against each other, Park beat Zau, 5-0.
Friday offers its own challenges. Park and Zau face leader Luke Linder of Notre Dame (13-2), and Notre Dame's fourth-place Jared Smith (10-5), among four fencers each who are ahead of them in the standings. Competition begins at 6 a.m. PT at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. Semifinals begin at 10 a.m. PT.
Calvin Zau (left) and Donghwan Park battle at nationals. Photo by Craig Houtz/Penn State Athletics
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Men
Sabre
Day 1 of 2
Standings: 10, Donghwan Park (Stanford) 8-7; 11, Calvin Zau (Stanford) 8-7.
Donghwan Park (8-7 record, 59-47 pts.)
l. to Soravit Kitsiriboon (Duke), 3-5
d. Stephen Kim (Duke), 5-0
l. to Inti Farfan-Bayerl (Penn State), 0-5
d. Clement Perrier (Penn State), 5-1
d. Domenic Bartolo (Sacred Heart), 5-2
d. Vijay Ganta (Sacred Heart), 5-1
l. to Bolang Meng (Boston College), 4-5
d. Spencer Kuldell (Boston College), 5-2
l. to Justin Park (UC San Diego), 4-5
l. to Justin Cho (UC San Diego), 2-5
d. Eric Dreitlein (Drew), 5-2
l. to Luca Rampazzo (Drew), 3-5
d. Calvin Zau (Stanford), 5-0
l. to Matthew Goode (Air Force), 3-5
d. William Nikolei (Air Force), 5-4
Calvin Zau (8-7 record, 55-48 pts.)
d. Soravit Kitsiriboon (Duke), 5-2
l. to Stephen Kim (Duke), 2-5
l. to Inti Farfan-Bayerl (Penn State), 2-5
l. to Clement Perrier (Penn State), 2-5
l. to Domenic Bartolo (Sacred Heart), 3-5
d. Vijay Ganta (Sacred Heart), 5-0
l. to Bolang Meng (Boston College), 3-5
l. to Spencer Kuldell (Boston College), 3-5
d. Justin Park (UC San Diego), 5-3
d. Justin Cho (UC San Diego), 5-2
d. Eric Dreitlein (Drew), 5-1
d. Luca Rampazzo (Drew), 5-1
l. to Donghwan Park (Stanford), 0-5
d. Matthew Goode (Air Force), 5-2
d. William Nikolei (Air Force), 5-2