Madison, NJ - The 2007 NCAA Men’s Fencing Championships concluded on Friday with three thrilling gold medal matches at Drew University in Madison, N.J. Harvard’s Tim Hagaman won the saber gold with a 15-14 victory over Patrick Ghattas of Notre Dame. Ohio State’s Andras Horanyi took the foil title by outlasting Penn’s Ronald Berkowsky 13-12 and Wayne State’s Slava Zingerman won the epee crown with a 15-13 decision over St. John’s Benjamin Bratton. Columbia holds a slim four point advantage over Penn State, 93-89, on the team charts, but five squads are within 11 points of the Lions as the women take center stage over the weekend. Drew's Dana Sanford had a strong performance on Friday, moving up to 16th place overall in men's epee.
In saber, Tim Hagaman qualified for the semifinals with a weapon-best 19 victories in the opening rounds. Facing Ohio State’s Mike Momtselidze in the semifinals, the Harvard senior scored a 15-7 triumph to advance to the finals. In the other semifinal, Ghattas reached the saber Gold Medal match for the third consecutive season by defeating Benjamin Igoe of Rutgers, 15-12. Igoe would take the bronze in the third place match.
In the final, Ghattas took a quick 3-0 lead as he looked to win his first gold. Hagaman rallied to tie the bout at 5-5 before the pair went into the first break with Ghattas leading 8-7. The Notre Dame senior gained a 11-9 lead after the break, but Hagaman reeled off four consecutive touches to take a 13-11 advantage. Ghattas fought back to make the bout 13-13 then 14-14. Hagaman got the final touch for the gold.
Andras Horanyi entered the foil elimination rounds as the third seed, but knocked off Columbia’s Kurt Getz in the semifinals 15-8. Berkowsky won a thrilling 15-14 bout against Columbia’s Scott Sugimoto to earn the trip to the final. After Getz defeated his fellow Lion in the consolation, Horanyi and Berkowsky faced off in a technical duel with the Buckeye winning as time expired.
The epee match was as exciting as the other two as Slava Zingerman held off Benjamin Bratton for a 15-13 victory. Zingerman had built an early 7-1 lead before Bratton battled back. Zingerman, a Wayne State fencer, defeated his teammate, Marek Petraszek in the semifinals 15-8. Bratton booked his place with a spot in the Gold Medal bout with a a13-9 triumph over Columbia’s Dwight Smith.
The women’s tournament begins tomorrow with the first four rounds. The action starts at 10 a.m.
COMPLETE MEN'S TOURNAMENT RESULTS