Lion Fencer Gearhart to take last jab at NCAA title

By DON WAGNER
Collegian Sports Writer

"It's not over, 'til it's over." -- Yogi Berra

For many people, this quote has been a source of laughter. But for Lion fencer Andy Gearhart, it is about to become a reality.

This weekend at the NCAA fencing championships in South Bend, Ind., the Penn State senior will step "onto the strip" for the last time. Just the thought makes the Brockport, N.Y., native a little anxious.

"I'm a little nervous about it because I've gotten second the last two years at the NCAAs," he said, "and I won't have another chance."

If anyone should be nervous, it's Gearhart's competitors. During the season, he went undefeated and only lost twice last year.

But Gearhart won't have to go far to look for competitors. One of his toughest opponents will be teammate Wes Waldron, who sees the situation as a sort of double-edged sword.

"Fencing a teammate is always tough because even when you win, the team loses," Waldron said.

But Waldron still greets the challenge of facing someone who he feels will be one of the toughest men's foil fencers at NCAAs.

"Andy is one of the top fencers in the country," he said. "I've never had a problem when I fenced him, but he is tough."

Other fencers Gearhart and Waldron will have to face will be Yale's Peter Devine, who Gearhart beat earlier this year; Brian Maroney from St. John's; and Stan Brunner of Notre Dame.

The Lions are one of the teams who qualified all 10 fencers:men's sabre: Serge Lilov and Jason Levin; men's foil: Gearhart and Waldron; men's epee: Greg Gregor and Gearhart; women's epee: Polo Wagner and Cecilia Youngblood; and women's foil: Olga Kalinovskaya and Sibyl Goldstein.

For Gearhart, this weekend's pursuit of an NCAA title is only one stop on his trip to much loftier goals.

"Winning an NCAA title is not my ultimate goal," he said. "Originally, starting out, it was always the Olympics, and this is just a stepping stone to that kind of goal."

Gearhart said the Lions' chance of returning home with the title this year is better than in previous years because expectations have changed.

In years past, they were heavily favored going in, and Gearhart said that may have worked against them. Now he knows there are three or four other teams that could win, causing the squad to fight harder.

Some other favorites include defending champion Notre Dame, Yale and St. John's. There will be no separate team competition this year -- team standings will be determined by the individual contests.

"They will all be tough because they are all teams who qualified the maximum of 10 fencers," he said.

Notre Dame will also have an edge over all the other teams because the tournament will be held in its home gym.

For the women, Penn State Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov echoes Gearhart's feelings about what teams will provide a challenge for them, including Ohio State. But he doesn't think any one team has a distinct advantage in the tournament.

"We qualified all 10 fencers and, initially, it gives us the same chance as any of the other three teams who also qualified 10," he said.