DURHAM, N.C. – On the final day of competition of the NCAA Championships, Harvard's
Lauren Scruggs was crowned the women's foil national champion on Sunday, March 26, in Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University. As team, competing with only 10 out of a possible 12 fencers, the Crimson finished the tournament in fourth place in the NCAA.
The sophomore, Scruggs, came into Sunday in fifth place in the women's foil round-robins after winning 10 bouts on Saturday. Scruggs would win seven out of her eight bouts in rounds 4-5, boosting her up to third place in the standings, earning her a spot in the semifinals.
In the semifinal round, Scruggs was matched up against Princeton's Maia Weintraub. The bout would start off back and forth, as each fencer would end up tied at eight. However, Scruggs would dominate the rest of the way, beating Weintraub 15-9 to advance to the finals.
Scruggs would face off against Princeton's May Tieu in the women's foil championship. Scruggs' momentum would carry over into the finals, quickly pulling away from Tieu and never looking back. Scruggs would win the bout 15-7 and was named the women's foil national championship.
Scruggs is Harvard women's fencing seventh NCAA individual champion in school history. She is also the first Crimson women's foilist to win the title since Alexandra Kiefer in 2014.
Outside of Scruggs,
Elizabeth Tartakovsky placed silver in the NCAA women's sabre competition. Tartakovsky would win 16 bouts in the round-robins with a +30-touch differential, earning her a spot in the women's sabre semifinals as a four seed.
In the semifinals, Tartakovsky would compete against Maggie Shealy from Brandeis University. Tartakovsky would begin the dual trailing Shealy 7-3, but came roaring back, winning the bout 15-8 and earning a spot in the NCAA women's sabre final.
In the finals, Tartakovsky would fall just short to Columbia's Nora Burke 13-15 in a tightly contested bout. With her second-place finish in her third NCAA Championships, Tartakovsky has now finished in the women's sabre top three in every NCAA Championships she has competed in.
Emily Vermeule also greatly impressed at the NCAA Championships. Competing in her second NCAA Championships, the sophomore went 17-5 in the women's epee round-robins, earning her a spot in the semifinals. Vermeule would not advance to the final after falling to Princeton's Jessica Lin, placing her tied for third in the women's epee competition.
Competing on her birthday, first-year
Faith Park placed sixth in the women's epee round robins with a record of 15-7.
Sophomore
Ever Marinelli finished tenth in the women's foil round-robins with 13 bout wins.
First-year
Zoe Kim placed 11
th in the women's sabre round-robins with 12 bout wins.
For Marinelli, Park and Kim, it was their first time ever competing in the NCAA Championships.
Results: (Bout Record, Touch Differential) Current Standing
Women's Sabre
Elizabeth Tartakovsky (16-7, +30) 2
nd place
Zoe Kim (12-11, +5) 11
th place
Women's Foil
Lauren Scruggs (17-6, +51) 1
st place
Ever Marinelli (13-10, +8) 10
th place
Women's Epee
Emily Vermeule (17-5, +36) T-3
rd place
Faith Park (15-7, +16) 6
th place
All-American Honors
First-Team
Jonas Hansen (Men's Epee)
Lauren Scruggs (Women's Foil)
Emily Vermeule (Women's Epee)
Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Women's Sabre)
Second-Team
Faith Park (Women's Epee)
Honorable Mention
Ever Marinelli (Women's Foil
Zoe Kim (Women's Sabre)
