ITHACA, N.Y. - At the NCAA Northeast Regionals, the Yale men's fencing team finished the day with excellent showings in all three weapons, which should put many Bulldogs in a position to qualify for Nationals.
 
The top performance came from Safi Haider, who won a silver medal in the epee.
 
In regionals, fencers compete in three rounds of pools, with cuts after each round. Only the top 12 make it to the third round. It is a grueling, hours-long test of fencing ability as well as endurance. Those who make it to the third round typically fence more than 20 bouts in the day and must be at the top of their game in order to defeat strong opponents.
 
Haider won 16 of his 23 bouts during the day. He was the only Bulldog to make the final round, and he represented Yale well.
 
Captain Isaac Shelanski was tied with another fencer going into the final round, so a fence-off for 12th was arranged, which ended in an unfortunate loss for Shelanski, putting his final place at 12th. Teammates Malcolm Miller and Jonah Cho finished 20th and 40th, respectively.
 
In saber, squad captain Nicolas Del Vecchio made the final round of pools and fenced well, securing eighth place overall and putting him in the running for the NCAA Championship.
Teammates Kevin Callahan, Andrew Zhang, and Elijah Hong placed 21th, 24th, and 25th, respectively. Del Vecchio reflected on the squad's performance, saying that he was "so proud of everyone for a great day of fencing."
Sophomore Cameron Allen made the final pool in foil, finishing 10th overall. Teammates Maxwell Yee, Earnest Chen, and Allan Ding narrowly missed the final pool, placing 15th, 16th, and 18th, respectively
 
The NCAA Championship field will be announced on Tuesday.
 
Full results can be found at https://fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/59C845D18A3448428F8C2BD10E2B9272#today
 
The NCAA Championship is set for March 19-22 in Detroit, Mich.