PHILADELPHIA – Showing extraordinary skill and poise in his first collegiate meet, Yan Yan Xie powered through a very strong field of 104 foilists to claim the bronze medal at the Temple Open on Sunday. This weekend's meet marked the first competition for the Haverford College men's fencing team of the 2016-17 season. The Temple Open, in its 37th year, has grown into the largest collegiate open in the entire country.
Following two seeding rounds of five bouts each, Xie downed three opponents from Maryland and Cornell with 15-1, 15-6, and 15-7 scores in quick succession to break into the top eight. Xie then dispatched NYU's Gabriel Mejia-Ruiz, 15-9, to reach the final four. In that semifinal match, Xie fell by a hard-fought 15-12 score to eventual champion Mohamed Hassan of Penn State.
Xie was joined by two of his Haverford teammates in the top eight. Senior epeeist Jake Bassinder and sophomore sabrist David Parker each grabbed the eighth spot for their events. Those two results rounded out a trifecta of finalists for the Fords. Bassinder defeated opponents from NYU, Johns Hopkins, and Maryland, but was overcome by Penn State, while Parker downed three conference rivals in his direct elimination bouts. He recorded two wins against Stevens and one from Johns Hopkins, before dropping a tight bout to the University of Florida.
Several Haverford fencers showed great promise in their first live action on the strips but were tripped up before the finals. Co-captain Eric Gardner placed 20th out of the 110 epeeists. He was followed by Kadan Lottick who placed 60th. Sabrists Gabriel Braun and John Hare stuck together with their respective 22nd and 23rd place finishes. Henry Li tied for 73rd in that weapon. Foil place winners from Haverford were Jack Leighninger (37th), co-captain Ching Li (50th), and Russell Rivera (51st).
Men's fencing will have the upcoming week away from competition before traveling to Poughkeepsie, New York on Sunday, November 13 to take part in the Vassar Invitational. That meet is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m.