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Post by LongBlade on Dec 11, 2005 1:37:40 GMT -5
Three of a kind: Fencing trio points the way for BrandeisBy John Connolly The Boston Herald December 6, 2005 sports.bostonherald.com/college/view.bg?articleid=115722&format=textThree foilists. Three lefties. Three Musketeers. Ask Brandeis fencing coach Bill Shipman and he’ll tell you that good things come in threes, especially when talking about his standout group of fencers: junior Chantal Dewey of Concord, sophomore Stefanie Aucoin of Waltham and sophomore Hannah Rosen of Mars, Pa. “They beat every team they could have been expected to (last year). A lot of times they were the dominant force in some of our victories,” said Shipman. “For instance, we beat Cornell by one bout but (the foilists) won, 9-0. So they pretty much carried us in some of our meets and we are very happy to have all of them.” Though all three are left-handed, which Shipman says is an advantage “just because it’s unusual,” the Brandeis trio came to the sport in different ways. Aucoin, 19, an American History major, played several sports, including archery, but admits, “I wasn’t very good at any of them.” Her mother signed her up for a class with the Boston Fencing Club after reading an article about the sport in a local newspaper. Dewey, 19, a pre-med major, has been fencing for seven years and you could say it’s in her blood. Her mother, Rebecca Bilodeaux, was an All-American in foil at Cornell. An aunt, Caitlin (Kelly) Bilodeaux, competed in foil at the Olympics in both 1988 and 1992. Rosen, 18, a European History major, learned as a sixth-grader from watching her brother Zack. She joined the Three Rivers Fencing club near her home to hone her new-found passion. To be sure, the sport is far different from the Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone swashbuckling movies of the 1930s and ’40s that most folks imagine fencing to be. “A lot of people in movies like Zorro that do it are trained by Olympians. It’s really a complex sport,” said Shipman. College fencing competitions are decided on a best-of-27 points basis with nine points available in each of three disciplines (epee, sabre and foil). A foil is approximately 35 inches in length and weighs less than a pound. A body cord plugs into the foil and runs through the sleeve of the arm out the back of the uniform, connecting to a tractable reel, which, in turn, is connected to the scoring machine. Each foil has a spring-loaded button at the point of the blade that must be depressed by a pressure of 500 grams or better to register a hit. Sound complicated? Aucoin simplifies it this way: “You get to hit someone with a sword,” she said. “They’re tough-minded,” said Shipman of his winning trio. “All three of them are tough mentally in different ways. Chantal is very determined, very aggressive and takes no quarter. Stefanie is very focused and concentrates in a much more strategic sort of defensive mode. Hannah knows her own game very well so she has no doubt in her mind about what she’s doing out there.”
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 1:39:43 GMT -5
Women's Fencing Hosts 73rd Annual NIWFA Christmas InvitationalCollegeSportsTV.com NY, NY, USA Dec. 6, 2005 www.cstv.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/120605aaa.htmlHACKENSACK, NJ - The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's fencing team competed at the 73rd annual NIWFA Christmas Invitational, hosted by the Knights in the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ on Sunday, December 4. There was no team competition, only individual results. Freshman Rebecca Kellogg was the lone Knights' entry in foil, placing 13th out of 58 competitors. She was undefeated at 9-0 until the quarterfinal round, wherer she went 2-3 to just miss the semifinals. In sabre, freshman Amanda Hauck made it to the final round of six, losing only one bout in the final to tie for first. In the fence-off for first place she fell, 5-3, to finish second overall out of 49 fencers. Freshman Alison Luckhardt placed 17th in sabre, junior Jen Cheng placed 36th and sophomore April Semilla rounded out the Knight finishers in 42nd. In epee, the Knights sealed wins in two of the top three places and three fencers in the top five. Sophomore Erica Kuehn reachd the final round, going 3-2 and placing second. Junior Zena Coulombe also went 3-2 in the final round to finish just behind Kuehn in third. Freshman Jasmine Cooper placed fifth, going 1-4 and sophomore Erica Galarza went 3-2 in the semifinals but based on indicators placed 7th. The Knights are back in action on January 20 in West Point, NY, where they will face NJIT, Stevens, James Madison and host Army.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 1:40:56 GMT -5
Fencing camp available for teensBy Sarah Evans Statesman-Journal Salem, Oregon, USA December 6, 2005 159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/ITK/512060309/1016Salem Classical Fencing will hold a winter-break camp for teens wanting to learn how to fence. The four-day camp is for youths ages 12 to 18 who have no fencing experience. It is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 19 to Dec. 23. Students will learn the basics of foil fencing. The cost is $150, which includes use of equipment, except for a glove. Financial assistance is available. The camp is limited to 12 students. For information, contact Michael Heggen at (503) 375-9209 or michael@classicalfencing.us.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 2:05:22 GMT -5
En garde against weight gain? Try fencingBY TOM DUNKEL Baltimore Sun Special to the Miami Herald Dec. 06, 2005 www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/13330411.htm''This past January, I was desperately seeking some physical activity,'' says Dr. Joanne Watson, a 37-year-old family medicine physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.  TAKING A BREAK: Dr. Joanne Watson chats with Dan Collins, a fellow member of the Chesapeake Fencing Club. (CHRISTOPHER T. ASSAF/BALTIMORE SUN)Her husband, Bruce, also a doctor, had been dispatched to Kentucky with his Army Reserve unit. Suddenly, Joanne was sole caregiver for their three young children and in need of an occasional sanity-saving energy burn. She also recently had dropped 53 pounds dieting and wanted to keep the weight off. ''I hate the treadmill,'' says Watson. "I hate the gym. And I hate walking.'' She spotted an ad in a community newspaper for the Chesapeake Fencing Club and decided to check it out. The club leases space inside a Knights of Columbus hall and has about 60 saber-rattling active members. Even seasoned fencers, however, concede that their sport has an image problem. Maybe it's the snow-white uniforms that remind you of cavalrymen dipped in powdered sugar. Maybe it's the French-laced terminology. Or the minimalist action. Most people might think the toughest part of the sport is squeezing into those tight pants. Au contraire.''There's a lot of legwork. We call it physical chess,'' says Watson. "Getting yourself into position, the lunging. It's aerobic and it's anaerobic.'' Ray Gordon, a 43-year-old professional fencing instructor who serves as club president, says you work the quad muscles and hamstrings hard. ''Fencing is very high intensity,'' he adds, "so it's more like sprinting than jogging.'' Longtime member Dan Collins, senior director of media relations at Mercy Medical Center, says fencing also develops upper body strength and balance. ''You burn calories at a higher rate than a professional football player,'' Collins says. Fencing probably will never be a staple of ESPN coverage. Roughly 500,000 Americans fence recreationally, according to Mike May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. But in 2000 the association dropped fencing from its annual Super Study of Sports Participation. ''It's one of those sports that's sort of a niche activity,'' says May, putting fencing in the company of wind surfing and squash. The good news is that membership in the tournament-oriented U.S. Fencing Association stands at 25,000, up about 50 percent in four years. ''We are seeing rapid growth,'' says Cindy Bent Findlay, the association's media relations officer. She attributes that spike to the proliferation of coaches and the U.S. women's team having won gold and bronze medals in saber fencing at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Very few Chesapeake Fencing Club members dream of someday striking Olympic gold. They practice two nights a week for the fun of it. Joanne Watson did drills for more than a month before proceeding to an actual bout, whereupon, she recalls, a 12-year-old fencer "kicked my butt.'' There are three weapons of choice: foil, épée and saber. The swords vary slightly in weight and grip, but, most critically, in the size of the target area on an opponent's body. With the épée, everything is fair game; with the foil, just the torso. A saber scores anywhere above the waist, including the head and arms. A point is awarded every time a sword tip touches a hot spot on the body, which is wired to record electronic hits. The standard match lasts 9 minutes -- or until a fencer registers 15 touches. Watching Gordon and Collins spar is like watching a mating ritual in the animal kingdom. There's lots of fancy footwork and parrying punctuated by split seconds of frenzied, meaningful action. They stutter-step up and back on a 40-foot-long, 6-foot-wide strip marked by colored tape on the wood floor -- their truncated battlefield. ''I'm still in the think-too-much stage,'' says Watson, pointing out instinctive moves the two men employ that are invisible to the untrained eye. There's little of the swashbuckling flash and clash that characterize Hollywood sword fights. ''In movies, what they're doing is trying not to hit each other,'' says club member Jay Glenn, who is also looking on. "Here you want to make your blade movements as small as possible.'' • For more information on fencing, call the Miami Fencing Club, Mike Elder, 305-992-1946.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 2:07:28 GMT -5
With two events under their belts, fencers settle into seasonby Jonathan Dinerstein Daily Staff Writer The Tufts Daily Maine, USA December 06, 2005 www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/06/43952b37452e5Returning much of its roster from a consistent and solid 2004-2005 season, and filling open spaces with some new talent, the fencing team is feeling good about its winter season campaign. "We've got lots of new freshmen, but we also didn't lose many of our good fencers from last season," said sophomore and men's team captain Dan Tovrov. "We're really optimistic about this coming season." Tufts has a varsity women's fencing team and a club men's team, both members of the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference. The women's team has already competed in two tournaments, most recently at Fairleigh Dickinson University for the NEIWFA Invitational last Sunday. The Jumbos competed against a field of teams which included Temple, the University of Florida, Johns Hopkins, and Drew University. The event was an individual competition, and the team got strong performances from several fencers. Senior Katherine Zouein placed fourth in sabre, junior Donna Au was the top seed in the epee group, and freshman Christine Lee took second in the foil category with an encouraging start to her rookie season. "Christine's a freshman, and she's doing really well," Zouein said. "We're all really excited about that." The women's team also competed at Harvard on Nov. 30 in a head-to-head team meet, falling to the Crimson. "Harvard always has an exceptionally good team," Zouein said. "I think we fenced well anyway." The women's team has many tournaments lined up for the spring semester. After returning from winter break, the Jumbos will head to the Wellesley Invitational to face Wellesley, Cornell and Vassar on Jan. 28. The next day the team will face Yale and Sacred Heart at Yale. In February, the women's team will compete against NYU and the University of North Carolina at Brandeis. Until then, the team will keep up its practice schedule of four days a week in Jackson Gym that helps it remain sharp. The men's team, which participates in the New England Conference, a multi-divisional league fielding teams from schools as diverse as fellow NESCAC member Amherst, Smith, Brown, Dartmouth, BU, and BC, has participated in two events so far this season. The team sent several fencers to "The Big One," an individual competition held at Smith College on Nov. 5. The Jumbos earned two top finishes in the field of 60 foil fencers, as Tovrov took the bronze at third and senior Misha Genin placed sixth. A few weeks later, the team competed in a conference meet against Brandeis, MIT, and Brown, three of the toughest teams in the conference, which showed in the Jumbos' 0-3 record. "We were missing a couple of our starters that day, and we played the hardest teams in the conference," Tovrov said. The team will take a long break from organized competition, as its schedule is empty until February, when Tufts will host a conference tournament. In the meantime, the team will work towards its season goal of earning a spot at the club Nationals.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 2:09:12 GMT -5
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 12, 2005 2:11:21 GMT -5
FENCING: Team has high hopes for USFA tournamentBy: Mike Gilloon The Observer - Sports Notre Dame & St. Mary's Southbend, Indiana 12/7/05 www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/paper660/news/2005/12/07/Sports/Fencing.Team.Has.High.Hopes.For.Usfa.Tournament-1123369.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.ndsmcobserver.comNotre Dame's best fencers will venture out of the realm of collegiate competition this weekend when they travel to Pittsburgh for the United States Fencing Association (USFA) North American Cup. The meet, beginning Friday at 10 a.m. at the Lawrence Convention Center, features a field of the top national competitors looking for a spot on the USFA national team. "This tournament is very important because they will fence against the best in America," Notre Dame coach Janusz Bednarski said. "It is a very high class tournament. It's a step up in their experience." Since the tournament is run by the USFA and not the NCAA, Irish fencers have to pay their own way and are competing as individuals not connected to any collegiate team. "Whether they go to [the meet] is up to the fencers," Bednarski said. "I will go as an observer, just to see how they compete." Several of the 17 Irish fencers expected to compete in the tournament are favorites to place highly. Bednarski mentioned women's saber competitors Mariel Zagunis and Valerie Providenza as two of the top-rated Notre Dame fencers traveling to Pittsburgh. "For some, like Zagunis , they will fight to be winners," Bednarski said. "For some others they will fight for higher rankings."
Irish fencers competing in the tournament on the men's side will be Greg Howard, Patrick Gettings and Jesse Laeuchli in the epee; Frank Bontempo and Mark Kubik in the foil; and Bill Thanhouser, Patrick Ghattas, Matt Stearns and Nicolas Diacou in saber.
For the women, Zagunis and Providenza will compete in saber, Adrienne Nott in foil and Amy Orlando, Rebecca Chimahusky and Kimberlee Montoya in epee.
The Irish individuals enter the national competition after a strong team performance in the Northwestern Duals held Nov. 20 in Evanston, Ill. Both squads finished with 6-0 records, headlined by the womens' 21-6 victory over the host Wildcats, who Bednarski considers one of the better squads in the nation.
"We were very, very surprised by how quickly we demolished the Northwestern team," Bednarski said. "We fenced well. We very quickly got a lead and very quickly finished off the competition."
Zagunis and foilist Emilie Prot swept through the duals without a loss as the Notre Dame women won 84 percent of their bouts in wins over Johns Hopkins (26-1), Stanford (22-5), 21-6 over Northwestern and California-San Diego and 23-4 over both North Carolina and Cal State Fullerton.
The men were equally impressive in the duals, winning 77 percent of their matches. Howard, Ghattas and Stearns combined for a record of 37-7 in wins over Northwestern (25-2), North Carolina (22-5), Stanford (15-12), California-San Diego (21-6), Johns Hopkins (18-9) and Cal-State Fullerton (24-3).
Notre Dame's next team event will be the NYU Duals in New York City on Jan. 22. By then, the national standings should be out and the Irish expect to be highly ranked.
"We have a lot of hard workers and a lot of very talented kids," Bednarski said. "We're very excited for the season."
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:09:49 GMT -5
Men's Fencing Defeats St. John's, 14-13
Engineers Post 3-1 Mark In Weekend Action CollegeSportsTV.com Dec. 5, 2005 www.cstv.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/120505aag.htmlCAMBRIDGE, Mass. - For the first time in three years MIT defeated national-power St. John's University, 14-13, in dual competition on Sunday at Brandeis University. The Engineers also picked up wins over Vassar College (19-8) and Boston College (17-10) before dropping a tough loss to Yale University (14-13). Tech's record now improves to 7-1 on the year.  Jason Chen helped the foil team win 78% of its bouts.The foil team was a force to be reckoned with as it won in every match, which resulted in a 28-8 ledger. A 9-0 win against St. John's was pivotal in MIT's slim win over the Red Storm. Spencer Sugimoto led the way with an 11-1 mark while Jason Chen and Benjamin Switala finished with records of 10-2 and 7-5. With a total of 7-5, William Walsh helped led the sabre squad to a 19-17 ledger. Brian Quattrochi and Igor Kopylov both finished at 6-6 on the day. In epee competition, Michael Beregovsky and Trevor Chang each tallied marks of 7-5 en route to a team record of 16-20.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:13:08 GMT -5
Kuwait wins fencing gold; bronze for Qatar The Peninsula Qatar's Leading English Daily 12/8/2005 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Sports_News&subsection=Asian+Games&month=December2005&file=Sports_News2005120813957.xmlDOHA: In what was a tough battle, Kuwait’s Abdulhussaim Ali edged past Jav Rezaei of Iran to win the men’s foil final at the Al Arabi Indoor Hall yesterday. There was some delight for the home fans when Ahmed Amir of Qatar won the bronze medal along with Ali Khasrough of Kuwait (both were the losing semi-finalists). Ali, who won the gold medal, registered a 15:14 score against his Iranian opponent in the final. The first period was dominated by Ali, who was leading 9:5 at that point of time. After the tense match, Ali said he was feeling extremely exhausted during the final, but managed to hang on. He said: “I reached a point where I just wanted to throw my sword and leave. I just wanted to a place to sit down.” Earlier in the night, Ali’s nephew, Ali Khasroug lost his semi-final bout to Rezaei (15:9). Crowd favourite Amir of Qatar lost his semi-final to Ali, the eventual gold medallist. Amir revealed nervousness got to him before his opponent did. He said: I was incredibly nervous because I am representing Qatar. And I knew all eyes were on me.”
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:14:23 GMT -5
Men Go Undefeated At Penn State Invitational
Epee sweeps its bouts[/b][/color][/size] Go Crimson Harvard University Dec. 6, 2005 gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-fenc/recaps/120605aaa.htmlState College, Pa. - The Harvard men's and women's fencing teams were both in action at the Penn State Invitational over the weekend. The women went 3-1, beating New York University, Rutgers and North Carolina despite a lost to the host Nittany Lions. The men's squad went a perfect 4-0, defeating NYU, North Carolina, Penn State and Rutgers. The women's foil squad of Chloe Stinetorf, Anne Austin and Emily Cross did not lose any of their bouts. The men's epee squad of Benji Ungar, Julian Rose, Ian Lindblom and Teddy Sherrill also went undefeated for the day. Complete results below. WOMEN Harvard 18, NYU 9 Penn State 15, Harvard 12 Harvard 21, Rutgers 6 Harvard 24, UNC 3 MEN Harvard 18, NYU 9 Harvard 18, UNC 9 Harvard 14, Penn State 13 Harvard 20, Rutgers 7
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:15:35 GMT -5
Men's Fencing Opens Dual Meet SeasonEagles score win over Vassar College[/b] CollegeSportsTV.com Boston College Dec. 8, 2005 www.cstv.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/120805aaa.htmlChestnut Hill, Mass. - Boston College Men's Fencing began the dual meet season this past weekend at the Brandeis University Invitational. The men went 1-3, earning a victory over Vassar College while dropping meets to MIT, St. John's and Yale. The men's foil squad had an impressive day, going 3-1 in their portion of the dual meets. All three starters - junior John Shadrick, sophomore Sean Hickey and freshman Peter Lowe - were 9-3 for the day. The team will return to action in January when they will host Brown, MIT and Brandeis in the Boston College Invitational. The Eagles welcome back a lineup strengthened by the return of upperclassmen from semesters abroad.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:17:10 GMT -5
At Home, Fencing Dominates BrandeisBy GABRIEL M. VELEZ Harvard Crimson December 08, 2005 www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510419Last night was the only time this season both the Harvard men and women’s fencing teams would play at home this year, and the university community came out to support them in full force. In a matchup against Brandeis—and with every contest having implications for NCAA Regionals seedings later on in the season—the Crimson steamrolled the Judges by a score of 23-4 on the men’s side and 24-3 in the women’s matches. A large crowd filled the fencing room in the Malkin Athletic Center, adding to the intensity in the matches. “The room lends itself to noise and even if there are just three people, it sounds like a hundred,” Harvard coach Peter Brand said. “It’s a real playoff atmosphere,” said sophomore epee Edward Sherrill. The largest cheering section centered on the area of the room in which the men’s foil was taking place. Crimson junior Enoch Woodhouse won his opening match in a tightly contested affair by jumping over his opponent’s attack and spearing him in the back. The energetic crowd responded to the winning move with cheers of “Whose house? Woodhouse.” The only undefeated weapon for Harvard was the epee, with the fencers for that weapon finishing 9-0 on the evening. While fencing at the Penn State Invitational this past weekend, the men’s epee squad—which consists of Sherill, senior Julian Rose and junior Ian Lindblom—also went undefeated. “There are rumors to the effect that we are the best epee squad in the country,” Rose said. “And we believe them to be true.” Despite the raucous atmosphere and the lopsided score, both teams said they took the meet seriously as all contests would have implications for seeding into the regional championship—which takes place on March 5th. “Every bout you fence is really important for you and the team,” Brand said. “That’s why it matters and that’s why these guys are so pumped up. We have high hopes this year and this is probably one of the strongest squads I have ever coached.” On the women’s side, the Crimson found little trouble against Brandeis, only a few days after falling in a tightly contested match to Penn State. Harvard was led by another dominating performance by sophomore foil Emily Cross, who is the current junior champion. Along with her teammates in the foil, the Crimson women are one of the best squads in that weapon in the country. The men’s team will return to the MAC one more time this year when it takes on Boston College on Feb. 8, 2006. The Harvard women do not fence again at home, but return to action on Feb. 5, 2006 in the Ivy League North meet.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:23:56 GMT -5
Pioneers Defeat Hunter, 19-8
Laudicina undefeated in sabre competitionSacred Heart U CollegeSports.com Dec. 7, 2005 www.cstv.com/sports/c-fenc/stories/120705aac.htmlNEW YORK, NY - The Sacred Heart men's fencing team traveled to Manhattan to face off against Hunter College on Friday and came away with a 19-8 decision against the Hawks.  Matt LaudicinaIn the men's sabre competition, sabre captain Matt Laudicina and senior Alex Bente led the charge for the Pioneers, with Laudicina going 3-0 and Bente following with a 2-0 bout record. Freshmen Chris Mason and David Rabinowitz helped with a win apiece in their only bouts. In the foil competition, junior Kris Singhaviroj finished the meet with an undefeated 3-0 record. Following was foil captain, junior Luc Bernacki who also walked away with a 3-0 record. In the men's epee, men's senior captain Adam Constantine finished the meet with a 2-1 record. Fencing strong for the Pioneers was Charlie Thompson with a 2-0 bout record. Rounding out the epee team was Earl Gendron, who ended the day with a 1-1 record against Hunter. The men's fencing team finishes the first half of the season with a perfect record of 5-0.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:26:14 GMT -5
Men's Fencing Team Narrowly Defeats Top-Ranked St. John'sBy Suki Dorfman Assistant Coach The Tech, M.I.T. December 9, 2005 www-tech.mit.edu/V125/N60/60fencing.htmlFor the second time in four years, the MIT men’s fencing team took down St. John’s University this Sunday at Brandeis, 14-13. Always ranked in the top five programs nationally, and last year third in the NCAA, the St. John’s team is packed with internationally recruited athletes. The Engineers and the Red Storm were tied at 13-13 when freshman foilist Benjamin T. Switala ’09 began the final bout. Under the pressure from every member of both teams watching his bout, Switala scored a resounding 5-1 victory to win the match for MIT, 14-13. Switala’s bout also concluded a 9-0 men’s foil sweep of the St. John’s squad, with MIT squad leader Jason Chen ’07 and Spencer R. Sugimoto ’08 both undefeated as well. In addition to spearheading the historic win against St. John’s, men’s foil was the top performing squad for MIT on Sunday. Chen, Sugimoto, and Switala won against all four foil squads they fenced and suffered only eight bouts lost all day. Sugimoto led the men’s team in total victories Sunday with an 11-1 record. Chen trailed barely behind at 10-2. Men’s sabre and epee were both challenged on Sunday, winning against Vassar and Boston College and losing to the Yale and St. John’s squads. Captain and sabre squad leader William T. Walsh ’06, epee squad leader Michael N. Beregovsky ’06 and epeeist Trevor T. Chang ’07 all finished the day with 7-5 records. The sabre squad of Walsh, Brian J. Quattrochi ’06, and Igor Kopylov ’09 barely won more bouts than they lost as a result of the tough competition from Yale and St. John’s. In total, the men’s team record was 3-1, with the only loss a 13-14 heartbreaker against Yale. The men’s team begins the holiday break at 7-1 for the season. Women’s epee still unstoppable The top performing women’s squad at Brown was also the best at Brandeis: women’s epee. Mika A. Tomczak ’06 led the team as well as the squad, losing only one bout to earn a 9-1 record. With Joanna W. Tong ’08 (8-3), women’s captain and epee squad leader Lele Yu ’06 (8-4), and Lauren W. Leung ’07 (1-2), the epee record was 26-10. Like the men’s foilists, the women’s epeeists beat every other squad they faced. The epee wins against Yale (7-2) and St. John’s (5-4) were bright spots against the women’s team’s losses to those schools. Shauna Jin ’06 achieved the strongest record for women’s sabre, winning 8 and losing 4. Although the women’s sabre squad lost to Yale, they were excited to have had the experience of fencing Yale’s Sada Jacobson, U.S. 2004 Olympic bronze medalist. Nancy Hua ’07 was first in the women’s foil squad with a 7-5 record, snatching the squad’s only victory against Yale. The MIT women’s 2-2 finish Sunday puts the team at 7-2 thus far. Stay tuned for the MIT fencing teams’ next match on Jan. 28, against Brown, Brandeis, and Boston College. This article originally appeared in The Tech, issue 125, volume 60.
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Post by LongBlade on Dec 17, 2005 20:28:47 GMT -5
W. Fencing suffers from bad luckBy Alena Geffner-Mihlsten Johns Hopkins News-Letter Baltimore, MD, USA December 09, 2005 www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/09/4399ecd545380Making it to the semifinals in a competition doesn't really mean too much. But for the women's fencing team, making it to semifinals was pretty impressive, especially when luck worked against them. This past weekend, the team competed at the Fairleigh Dickinson Individual meet. Despite going against hard schools such as Temple and Tufts, freshman Erica Hartman placed ninth in saber, seniors Katherine Dunne and Cathy Gallagher placed 15th and 18th in epee and freshman Grace Fried placed 15th in foil. Due to luck of the draw, Dunne and Gallagher faced the top eight fencers very early on, which severely limited their chances. "It was just bad luck that they wound up meeting the top eight fencers so early," said Head Coach Jim Murray. Other fencers were also hindered; junior Sarah Smilow was forced to compete with her left hand after an injury to her right. Although Hopkins has been to this competition in the past, this year was different than the rest. "The tournament was a lot smaller than other years, and it got strong a couple of rounds earlier than usual," said Murray. The Blue Jays, however, learned from their opponents. "We were able to see the stronger teams such as Temple and Tufts," said Murray. "We've got to gear up for them." Temple consistently has one of the top teams in the league. Tufts has also been steadily improving, and the school will host the women's championships in February. So far, the team has competed in three major tournaments and played over 13 teams. The most intensive part of the season, though, will be in February and March, when the championships begin to loom large. The Fairleigh Dickinson tournament concludes the first half of the team's season. Before the second half officially starts after Intersession, the team will be undergoing serious training. Over Intersession, the team will be going to Holland to train at Holland's national training center for ten days. The head coach of Holland's national team, Rorik Jansen, will be assisting in the team's training. In addition to training at the center, the Blue Jays will go around each night to play against different fencing squads. If the invitations the Jays have received are any indication, the Holland teams are excited to entertain the Hopkins women. Currently, the Blue Jays have more invitations then they have time. "It's going to be exciting, and best of all, we'll be able to fence like crazy," said Murray. "It's great to be exposed to that level of competition." The team won't spend all of their time fencing, however. They will be staying within an hour of Holland's biggest attraction, the city of Amsterdam. Holland isn't generally thought of as a strong fencing country, though -- especially when compared to nearby France, Germany and Italy. "Although it's a small country, they have tremendous experience from being able to compete with the other countries," said Murray. "This trip to Holland will really prepare us for the next semester. After going in January, we'll come back and we'll be ready to really fence at a college level." As for men's fencing, the team is getting ready for the United States Fencing Association's North American Cup in Pittsburgh this weekend. Hopkins is sending four fencers to this meet. This cup is one of the qualifiers for the United States National Fencing team. No Blue Jay fencer has ever been able to make it onto the team.
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