PARKSIDE, WI – Johns Hopkins University tied for 21st out of 24 teams, its highest finish in 10 years, at the 2001 NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Championships held March 21-25 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Sports and Activities Center. Junior Sarah Walsh (Fitchburg, MA/St. Bernard's) represented Hopkins in women's sabre, while graduate student Kevin Little (Estes Park, CO/Estes Park) participated in men's foil. Walsh finished the championships in 11th-place to earn All-America honors, becoming the first Hopkins fencer in 20 years and the third in school history to garner All-America accolades (Loree Keleher '78, Paul Cordst '80). Little earned 24th-place in his event.

Walsh, the 2001 University Athletic Association (UAA) and two-time National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association sabre champion, gave an outstanding performance, posting a 12-11 record in the pool of 24. She concluded the first day of competition with a 6-8 mark, ranking 13th overall. Walsh elevated her game the following day to garner a 6-3 mark and improve her place in the standings to 11th. She had some notable wins including a 5-4 victory over Marisa Mustilli of St. John's, who finished second overall in the event. Walsh was also impressive in losses to eventual champion Sada Jacobsen of Yale (4-5), third-place finisher and 2000 champion Caroline Purcell of MIT (4-5), and fourth-place winner Sakinah Shaahid of Temple (4-5). This season's trip to the NCAA Championships was Walsh's second consecutive, as she placed 17th last year with a 9-14 record, earning JHU a 25th-place finish.

Little, who placed third at the 2001 UAA Championships and captured the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) foil title, also returned to the NCAA Championships after taking a year off from fencing in 2000. He tied his 1999 finish of 24th with a 2-24 record in competition, which gave the Blue Jays a tie for 22nd in team scoring.

With the selections of Walsh and Little, Hopkins has now had at least one fencer participate in the last four, and five of the last six, NCAA Championships (Carl Liggio '96, John Chang '98, Kevin Little '99, Sarah Walsh '00). The last time JHU had more than one fencer compete at the championships was in 1984 when three fencers, sabre Taro Adachi and foils Dave Weiner and Andrew Goldberg, participated.

For more information about the championships, please visit www.ncaachampionships.com.

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