DURHAM, N.C. – Stanford junior Donghwan Park finds himself in 16th place in the men's saber after the first day of the NCAA Fencing Championships on Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After three rounds of pool play, Park is 5-8. There are two more rounds Friday.
There are 24 competitors in each division. Fencers will compete in a six-person round-robin format of five-touch bouts, with the top four finishers in each weapon advancing to the 15-touch semifinals. The first two days of the NCAA schedule are devoted to the men and the final two to the women.
This is the third NCAA appearance for Park, a two-time All-American. But he will need to improve four places over eight bouts to do so.
Park opened with a 5-0 victory over Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Shawn Kim, but that bout ultimately did not count because Kim withdrew midway through Thursday's competition.
Park recorded a 2-4 record in the first round, beating Ohio State's Jack Price, 5-2, who is in fourth place in the pool, and Brandeis' Antonio Escueta, 5-3. Park went 1-3 in the second round and 2-1 and in the third.
Park endured two difficult losses that would have swayed his day. Lev BenAvram of Brandeis took a 4-0 lead over Park in the first round, only for Park to rebound with four consecutive points of his own to tie it up, before BenAvram got the decisive touch in a 5-4 victory.
Against Notre Dame's Jared Smith, who stands fifth in the pool standings, Park grabbed a 3-0 lead, only for Smith to rally to a 5-3 victory.
Park open the fourth round at 6 a.m. PT on Friday. Championship bouts begin at 10:30 a.m. PT.
Three Stanford women – Crystal Qian (foil), Irene Yeu (epee), Joy Yun (saber) -- compete Saturday and Sunday.
A live feed of semifinal and final bouts will be available at 10:30 a.m. PT on ESPN+. Semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights, will air on ESPNU at 11 a.m. PT on April 6.
