The 2013 NCAA Championships are scheduled to take place in over a month from now in San Antonio Texas, but it’s never too early to make predictions.
This championship will feature an array of 2012 London Olympics, ten reigning or former NCAA champions, and dozens of fencers ranked at the top of the United States points list. Assuming the regional qualifications go according to expectation, this could shape up to be one of the most competitive tournaments in NCAA fencing history.
For those unaware of the format—the tournament is divided into six events: Men’s Epee, Men’s Foil, Men’s Sabre, Women’s Epee, Women’s Foil, and Women’s Sabre. Each event is comprised of 24 competitors who fence each other in five-touch, round robin format over the course of two days. At the conclusion of the round robin fencing, the school that has earned the most victories will be the NCAA team champions.
Once the round robin is complete, the top 4 fencers in each event compete in 15-touch single elimination bouts for the right to be crowned NCAA individual champion. The individual title is independent of the team championships.
My predictions cover the fencers I believe will be in the top 3 of each event, and my overall national champion predictions:
Reblogged this on Fencing for the Edge and commented:
Since the Ivy League Championships have been postponed due to the snowy weather, here are some early predictions for the NCAA Championships.