NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Five Bulldogs are in Durham, N.C. to compete for a national championship.
Ted Vinnitchouk (men's epee),
Jack Pan (men's saber),
Emme Zhou (women's foil),
Helen Tan (women's foil) and
Sydney Hirsch (women's saber) will represent Yale at the 2023 NCAA Fencing Championships hosted by Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The men's competition will be Thursday and Friday with the women set to compete Saturday and Sunday. After five rounds of competition in each weapon, the top four fencers will compete first in semifinals and, with a win, a final, both 15-touch bouts to determine the weapon champion.
Yale's women's contingent is experienced at NCAA's. Zhou, Tan and Hirsch all competed last year. Zhou, a senior, is a two-time All-America selection. She placed eighth last year and also earned All-America recognition in 2020 when the championship was canceled due to the pandemic.
Tan, a sophomore, finished 17th last year at NCAAs and earned second team All-Ivy honors this year. Hirsch, a senior, also was a second team All-Ivy selection this year. She finished 14th at NCAAs last year and was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2019-20.
On the men's side, Vinnitchouk, a junior, and Pan, a first year, will be making their NCAA debuts. Vinnitchouk was Yale's top finisher at the NCAA Regionals, placing eighth, while Pan earned second team All-Ivy recognition.
The competition begins each day at 9 a.m.
