STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Freshman Noam Mills
claimed second in the women's epee and teammate Caroline Vloka was
the finalist in the women's sabre to guide the Harvard fencing team
to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing
Championships, held at Penn State's Ashenfelter Multi-Sport
Facility.
The Crimson concluded the four-day meet with 116 victories,
while Penn State won the team title with 195. Notre Dame
placed second (182), followed by Ohio State (166), and Columbia
(151).
Mills, a 2008 Olympian with Team Israel, entered the
championship bracket as the No. 1 seed in the epee. Mills won
21 of 23 matches in rounds 1-7, including all nine Sunday.
She scored 106 touches and boasted a weapon-best +54 indicator
rating. In the semifinals, Mills edged Notre Dame's Ewa
Nelip, 15-13, to reach the gold-medal match against Anastasia
Ferdman of Penn State. Ferdman got the best of the Crimson
fencer, topping Mills, 15-9, for the national title. With her
second-place finish, Mills was tabbed to the All-America first
team.
Vloka posted a 20-3 record in the preliminary rounds and amassed
105 touches, while surrendering only 52 for a +53 rating, the
fourth-best mark among women's sabre fencers. Vloka entered
the semifinals as the No. 2 seed and met Dagmara Wozniak of St.
John's. Vloka held off her opponent, 15-11, to advance to the
national final, where she faced Duke's Rebecca Ward. Vloka,
who was named to the All-America first team for her effort, fell to
Ward, 15-4.
In the women's foil, senior co-captain Emily Cross posted a 21-3
mark in rounds 1-7 and accumulated 107 touches. A 2008
Olympic silver medalist with Team USA, she tied for second with +57
rating and qualified for the semifinal in the foil division.
Cross, who won the 2005 individual national championship, dropped
her matchup against Penn State's Doris Willette by a slim, 8-7,
margin. Willette went on to win the national title, defeating
Notre Dame's Hayley Reese, 15-5.
With her third-place finish, Cross was selected to the
All-America first team for the third time in her illustrious
career.
Freshman Shelby MacLeod also competed in the foil and took 17th
with 10 victories and 64 touches. Senior Maria Larsson
grabbed eight victories in the epee to place 17th. Larsson
accumulated 82 touches to her credit.
