Frustration drives fencer to NCAAs

Dean Jacobberger left yesterday morning for a place he's wanted to go to for four years.

He boarded a plane for Colorado Springs, Colo., where the 1997 NCAA Fencing Championships start today. The Penn State senior had qualified for the championships before but was unable to go because of the limit of fencers allowed from one school.

"It has been frustrating," he said. "But it has given me more drive, especially this last season."

This year Jacobberger left nothing to chance by finishing second at the Mid-Atlantic/South regional on March 9 and securing his position on the NCAA tournament roster.

But Jacobberger's failure in the past has not been because of a lack of effort. Teammate Jeff Feinblatt called Jacobberger the "workhorse" of the team earlier this season. Perhaps this is the reason all of his teammates have been so enthused by his recent success.

"The reaction of my team has been so positive," Jacobberger said. "Seeing my teammates support and the support from my coaches, friends and family has been great."

Jacobberger is hoping support will help him as he looks to close his fencing career as an All-American. He is graduating in May and plans to go overseas for a year before looking for a job somewhere near his native Canoga Park, Calif.

He does not foresee fencing in his future, so the NCAA tournament has taken on a special meaning for him.

His love affair with fencing began as a seventh-grader at Chaminade Prep Middle School. He had a science teacher who was new in the school. The teacher, Father Calhoun, was an established fencer who wanted to start a fencing program at the school.

Jacobberger and eventual Penn State teammate Wes Waldron were in the class together. To get on the new teacher's good side, they joined the fencing team.

"Once they got into it, they both became very interested in it," said Edward Jacobberger, Dean's father. "It was the individual aspect of it that Dean liked."

Jacobberger began to compete in tournaments across the country, and when it came time to choose a college, he had the best fencing programs in the country at his fingertips. He chose Penn State because of its reputation.

Waldron and Feinblatt, who also attended Chaminade, soon made the same decision, and the three made the transition from sunny southern California to snowy central Pennsylvania together.

"I think it definitely helped," Jacobberger said. "Wes and I were roommates freshman year, and it was nice seeing familiar faces on the team."

Jacobberger and Feinblatt also had to make another transition. The two started their careers at Penn State fencing foil. But after their sophomore years, Penn State coach Emmanuil Kaidanov felt it would be best for the team if the two switched to epee.

"At first I didn't want to do it," Jacobberger said. "I enjoyed foil more, but I figured I'd give it a shot. Then I really started to enjoy it, and now I love it."

Jacobberger has gone 52-26 since the switch. He has given many of the best epee fencers in the country a tough test, including defending national champion Jeremy Kahn of Duke, whom he lost to, 5-4, this season.

Now Jacobberger will have the chance to avenge that loss and gain a few more wins before he calls it a career.

"I know he wants to become an All-American," Kaidanov said. "Everything is in his hands now. I think he will do well."