Almost not enough for fencers Lilov

Editor's Note: This is the third and final part of a three-part series previewing the NCAA fencing championships. This article highlights sabre and the team competition.

Serge Lilov knows what it feels like to almost win a national championship. This year Lilov is hoping he can erase the word almost from that sentence.

"At the NCAAs he has the experience of a third- and a second-place finish," Penn State coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said. "Maybe this year is his year."

As a freshman in 1995, Lilov captured All-American honors when he finished third in sabre at NCAAs. He improved on that last year by one place.

Lilov will have to overcome some familiar opponents if he hopes to capture the title this year. All four top-place winners from last year, including Lilov, are back in the hunt for the sabre title this season.

Maxim Pekarev of Princeton defeated Lilov in the NCAA finals last season. The two met earlier this year when Princeton and Penn State had a dual meet. This time Lilov prevailed, 5-1, over the defending champion.

The 1995 sabre champion will be looking to regain his title from Pekarev this weekend. New York University's Paul Palestis finished third last season and will be looking to become a three-time All-American when he steps on the strip tomorrow when the sabre competition begins.

Notre Dame has the most formidable one-two punch in sabre. The duo of Luke Lavalle and Bill Lester both have shots at being All-Americans and finishing first. Lavalle and Lester finished fourth and sixth, respectively, last season.

Penn State's lineup is rounded out by sophomore Brian Walther. This will be his first NCAA tournament but the sophomore has been a valuable member of the sabre team the past two seasons, posting a 68-13 record.

The traditional fencing powers again will be vying for the team title this year. The only two teams to qualify the maximum amount of fencers, 10, are Penn State and Notre Dame.

These two squads have won the past three national titles and finished first and second, respectively, last season. The two met earlier this season at Penn State and the Nittany and Lady Lions prevailed. The men won, 16-11, while the women prevailed, 18-14.

Notre Dame will be out for revenge for both last season's loss at the NCAAs and this year's dual-meet defeat.

"Notre Dame is a great competitor," Nittany Lion senior Jeff Feinblatt said. "They are always strong. It's one of our best fights. We'll see what happens this year."

Penn State is quick not to count out the other contenders for the title. Columbia, St. John's, Stanford and Yale all qualified eight fencers and have legitimate shots at wrestling away the crown from Penn State.

Besides the other schools, another thing that concerns Kaidanov is complacency. The Nittany and Lady Lions have rolled over the competition the past two seasons, and he is worried the team may be a little overconfident.

"I would prefer to lose one or two matches in the year," he said, "and then be sharp at the most important time of the year."

The title likely will rest on his team's and Notre Dame's attitudes, Kaidanov said. Notre Dame and Penn State definitely have the most talent and are very close in skill level. He said he knows Notre Dame is hungry to win the title, and he hopes his team is, too.

"The team who is hungrier," he said, "and desires it more will win it all."