Impressed by the attendance at last year’s 2009 NCAA Fencing Championship, Emmanuil Kaidanov kept a memento.
Preserved in laminate the Penn State head coach’s picture shows the bleachers of the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility in State College filled with Penn State followers.
“That was outstanding, such a great crowd,” said Kaidanov. “A lot of students and alumni came from all over country (along with) a lot of parents and locals.”
The large home crowd witnessed Penn State fencing winning its 11th championship in a 19-year span. A known powerhouse on the national scale, Penn State does not come close to a similar attendance during a regular season dual.
Despite low local attention, Penn State fencing has become one of fencing’s and Penn State’s most successful programs.
“With fencing there is never really that big of a stage,” said sophomore saber Aleksander Ochocki. “Most people know we are good, but have never seen fencing before.”
Penn State will send the maximum of 12 fencers to 2010 NCAA Fencing Championship at Harvard this weekend. Regardless of the results, the Nittany Lion have won 57.89 percent of all fencing championships since the introduction of the men’s and women’s combined championship in 1990.
Penn State’s 11 championships are one more than the UCLA men’s basketball won in the 19-year span from its first in 1964 to 1983.
“It is one of the most successful programs in Penn State athletics,” said senior epee Anastasia Ferdman. “Penn State is the best school to go to if you still want continue fencing and do very well at it.”
Kaidanov believes that Penn State’s success can be seen through its international influence, but believes the program as a whole is important. Penn State fencing has produced eight total Olympians.
“Every year we delegate new fencer international,” said Kaidanov. “We have quite a number of outstanding fencers.”
“What is important is that they are all part of this team.”
It is this international presence that influenced Ferdman, a three time All-American and last year’s national female champion in epee, to come to Penn State from her home in Maalot, Israel.
“My teammate from home who was already a sophomore at Penn state told me it was the best school ever,” said Ferdman. “I didn’t know much, but I knew it was a great empire.
“It does not get as much attention as other sports, but for fencing we are pretty popular.”
Success and popularity can be linked to Kaidanov. The 28-year head coach has a 724-60 combined record and has produced 176 All-Americans.
“There is an excellent coaching staff,” said Ferdman. “You have all these services that you probably not get at any other school.”
Kaidanov’s success has had a strong affect on the program’s recruiting.
“(Recruits) come to us,” said Kaidanov. “We do not want to have someone come here who is not interested.
“Having someone who likes Penn State come here is key to (that person’s) success.”
While he believes a lot of other factors go into a strong fencer, Kaidanov thinks there are some basic reasons Penn State flourishes.
“We do basic things right and we remember our priorities,” said Kaidanov. “We encourage initiative while trying help kids achieve.”
Kaidanov does not want to put too much pressure on his fencers going into the 2010 NCAA Championship, but sophomore foil Miles Chamley-Watson and his fellow teammates understand the challenge of a repeat championship. No current Penn State fencer has won a back-to-back championship.
“We are looking to repeat, but it is going to be tough,” said Chamley-Watson “To get the ring we have to compete as a team.”
It is this complete team success that allowed Penn State fencing to win four out of six events in last years championship. Ochocki fondly remembers his fellow Penn State athletes as part of the crowd that witnessed this accomplishment.
“You see all those kids on the Big Ten Network, but we are never really on that stuff,” said Ochocki. “For them to finally see how dominant we are and cheer for us was exciting.”
“That was in past we have new champions this weekend,” said Kaidanov.
How Fencing Works
Weapons:
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Foil: A light thrusting weapon, in which the torso is the only contact area accepted.
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Epee: A heavy thrusting weapon, in which the entire body is an accepted contact area.
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Sabre: A light cutting and thrusting weapon, in which everything above the waist, except the hands and the back of the head, is the accepted contact area.
* Each weapon has its own additional rules *
The Bout:
The bout begins when the referee gives the verbal command. Fencers rush forward and strike the opponent or defend shots. Fencers return to their starting point after each point scored. Player with most points in time period or required touches wins.
NCAAs:
Men and Women dueling separately in all three weapons
Two Days
Day 1:
- Each fencer duals 14 opponents – One bout each, five touches (counts as team points)
Day 2:
- Each fencer duals nine opponents – One bout each, five touches (counts as team points)
- Top four fencers in each gender/weapon combination chosen – One bout, 15 touches (does not count as team points)
No. 1 vs. No. 4 —
|– Winner vs. Winner
No. 2 vs. No. 3 —
