Zoeuin and Williams put in strong performances at Nationals

The women's fencing team put an exclamation mark on its season with both of its national qualifiers finishing in the top 20 in the nation for Sabre.

Senior Kasara Williams capped off an impressive four year Tufts career with a 14th place finish at the national championships held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Freshman Katherine Zoeuin's 17th place finish showed why she will be regarded among the nation's best for years to come.

Over Spring Break, from Mar. 19-23, both Williams and Zoeuin took on the nation's best at the NCAA National Championships. It was the first time that the Tufts team had sent more than one fencer in a year to the event, and the two did not disappoint.

Unlike other tournaments, this one began in round robin style the first two days, allowing all fencers to compete throughout the days. Although the fencers finished strong in the end, there were hurdles to overcome in the beginning of the tournament.

"This was the most difficult tournament I think I have ever fenced in," Williams said. "The first round was the worst I think because my head was not in it yet and the fact that I kept losing just made it worse. The second round went better because I was just mad."

Overall, both fencers finished very similarly, with Williams recording ten victories and Zouein getting nine. Final standings were based not only on number of individual wins but also on "indicators," meaning the number of touches recorded within each bout. The overall winner proved to be Alexis Jamel from Rutgers University who recorded a total of 18 victories throughout the tournament.

When it was all said and done, the two fencers were proud of not only their National tournament performance but also their season as a whole. For Williams, who was also named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team, it was a great way to cap off a strong Tufts career.

"There was no better way to end my Tufts career." Williams said. "I started this season with the goal of qualifying for nationals. I knew that it was a long shot but I had to make it."

For Zoeuin, this is only the start of what looks to be a very promising and possibly record-breaking fencing career. A very highly touted freshman coming into the program after years of competing in national tournaments during high school, Zoeuin did not disappoint in what was arguably the finest first-year performance in school history.

"Kat would do well since she has three years of fencing under her belt," Williams added. "We can expect great things from her in the future since she has done this well during her first year. I think she has the ability to win nationals by the time she is a senior."

The success of the individuals and the team this year has not only had a positive impact on this season's team but on the future as well. Despite not having the ability to recruit heavily for fencing, Tufts has begun to gain recognition from many strong high school fencers interested in participating at the collegiate level. The national recognition for Williams and Zouein has especially brought attention from many sabrists around the New England region. While a loss of seven seniors will be disappointing, next year's team is poised to have another strong performance.

"There is a talented group of [high school] juniors from a local fencing club who are planning to apply to Tufts," senior sabrist Emily Cappetta said. "Also, we've got lots of seniors graduating this year, but we've got some talented underclassmen ready to step up, and we will be getting new talent over the next several years."

With new team rankings coming out soon, it would not be surprising if Tufts is able to crack the women's top 20.