CAMBRIDGE, MA (March 26, 2010) -- Junior Andrew Fischl, competing in his third straight NCAA Fencing Championships, went 6-8 in the sabre competition in the first day of bouts and his performance keeps him in contention for All-America or Honorable Mention All-America honors. Fischl is one of 24 fencers competing in the sabre.

Fischl went 0-5 after the first round and according to head coach Bruce Gillman, "was just a bit off in every round except for his bout against Max Stearns from Ohio State. Fischl lost 4-5, but "had some great touches," Gillman explains.

In the second round Fischl went 3-0, defeating Thomas Abend from Princeton 5-1 with improved distance and timing in this bout. In the third round, Fischl lost to a pair of Penn State fencers but came back strong to defeat Anthony Lin of Duke, 5-4.

In his fourth and final round, Fischl was down to Sam Roukas of New York University, but came back impressively to win 5-4. He then lost to Peter Souders from Boston College but finished strong with a 5-1 victory over Colin Mills from Yale.

"Andrew has a challenging three rounds left on Sunday," says Gillman, "but he is in much better position this year than in his previous two tripts to the NCAA's."