From NYU Athletics
New York University senior fencer Ian Sanders earned a bronze medal and helped lead New York University to an 11th-place national finish at the NCAA Fencing Championships, which were held at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
Competing in epee, Sanders faced 23 fencers in the preliminary round robin, finishing with the most victories (17) and earning the top seed heading into the semifinal round. He faced Gabriel Feinberg of Ohio State University and was edged by the slimmest of margins, 15-14.
Feinberg went on to win the gold medal.
Pairing off exclusively against NCAA Division I competitors (except his teammate Liam Carpenter), Sanders won 12 bouts on Saturday and five more on Sunday to qualify for the semifinals and assure himself of a medal and All-America honors.
"It has been such an honor to represent my team and my university. We were able to show Division I schools what we are all about," Sanders said. "It's been a blur of emotions, and today being my last day of collegiate competition, well, it's really been a dream."
Throughout the four-day event, each winning bout (excluding the semifinals and finals of each weapon) counts for one point, and NYU as a team accumulated 54 points. Duke University finished just ahead of the Violets with 63 points.
Host Notre Dame won the men's and women's combined competition with 189 points, while NYU was the top Division III finisher.
"This is an absolute huge success not only for NYU, but for all of Division III," said Head Coach Steve Mormando. "Everyone who competed for us did their best. For Ian, it was a culmination of five years of hard work. He put it all together at the end after barely qualifying for nationals. He never stopped working and he seemed relaxed throughout the competition."
Carpenter, another senior who also fenced epee, actually defeated Sanders in one of the round robin bouts. He wound up in 19th place with eight victories.
"Liam had a really bad cold all week and could barely walk," Mormando revealed. "What he did on the strip was amazing, a truly great result."
The Violets also produced an All-American in saber, as junior Jamie Ren posted 13 victories en route to a ninth-place finish.
The top 12 in each weapon earned All-America honors.
"When I first got to the venue, I was really nervous," Ren explained. "I had to remind myself to just have fun and not worry about the result. I just wanted to do my best. Once I was on the strip and felt more comfortable, everything just came back to me. It was a thrilling experience. I'm exhausted, but already thinking about wanting to come back next year."
Sophomore Kevin Zu, the youngster of the group, also competed in saber and posted a 14th-place finish after securing 10 wins in the round robin. He was narrowly defeated (5-4) by Ren.
"An absolutely spectacular result for Kevin considering he's basically a freshman," said Mormando. Zu was unable to fence during his freshman year due to Covid-19.
The Violets' lone female competitor, sophomore Maria Stamos, won six bouts over the first two days of foil competition and posted a 20th-place finish.
"Just a fantastic outing for our fencers and for our fencing teams," Mormando concluded. "To finish as the highest Division III school in the nation and barely out of the top 10 overall, shows the spirit and quality of our student-athletes. They've worked hard not only this year but over the past few years to compete against and to beat the best of the best our sport has to offer.
"Just an exciting and monumental day for NYU Fencing."