It was all about stamina and determination last Saturday for the women's fencing team, who finished third in a field of 13 at the New England Championships, held at MIT last weekend. The top-three finish was one of the best results ever for the women's team, and could be considered an upset as the Jumbos knocked off several squads who had defeated them earlier this season.
Overall the squad finished fifth in its conference this season, behind MIT, Brown, Boston College and Brandeis.
"I am so proud of our women's team and every member's hard work that won us third place for the best overall team," freshman Jamie Kraut said.
It was a grueling day of fencing for the women, who left Tufts around 6 a.m. and did not return until well past eight in the evening, both physically and mentally exhausted.
"The format of the tournament is all about match-ups, conditioning and keeping emotionally controlled," coach Jason Sachs said. "We fenced 13 schools over seven hours and then the individuals who made it to the finals fenced another two hours. That is a long time to keep your focus."
The Jumbos faced off against MIT, Brown, Boston College, Brandeis, University of New Hampshire, Wellesley and UMass, among others. MIT finished in first place at the tournament, followed by BC, Tufts, Brown and Brandeis to round out the top five. The team lost to the MIT Engineers and the Brown Bears 4-5 and to the BC Eagles 3-6. In Sachs' words, the Jumbos "steamrolled" over the rest of the competition, including 6-3 wins over Brandeis, Wellesley, and New Hampshire, teams who had defeated Tufts earlier in the season.
"My girls performed in a New England Patriots-like fashion," said Sachs. "Very few stars, lots of team focus and great execution. Not a fencer on the team fenced poorly. All brought their A-game."
The championships featured both team and individual competition. Each school had three fencers, one each in an A, B and C slot. Each slot faced off against one another, and the top nine fencers from each weapon moved on to the individual round. After this round, the individual winners were determined.
The epee squad featured freshman Anne Haluska who, despite having only been fencing for three and a half months, competed in the A slot.
"I put Annie there not because she was the best of three starters, but I had been watching all year long and she seemed to give the experienced fencers a very hard time," said Sachs. "She is patient and smart. She doesn't over-commit and she loves to fence."
Haluska won six of her 13 bouts. Sophomore Donna Au fenced in the B slot, going 7-6, and Sophomore Lauren Bowen fenced the C slot, finishing 8-5. The epee squad finished the day sixth out of 13 teams-a promising performance for next season given the squad's youth.
"They were amazing," Junior Julia Shih said. "Despite the talented field of opponents they faced they really showed other teams that although they have been only fencing for a short time they are already formidable competition and will only continue to become more so in the years to come."
The sabre squad once again finished on top, led by sophomore Louisa May Zouein in the A slot and freshman Diana Barger in the B slot, both of whom went undefeated on the day, finishing a combined 26-0. Senior Rosabelle Pong finished 8-5 in the C slot. Zouein and Barger also competed in the individual competition, and Zouein finished as the number one sabrist at the event. Foilist Jamie Kraut praised Zouein's performance at the competition.
"Louisa May remained calm and concentrated throughout the day," she commented. "Louisa is a dedicated fencer, working so hard during the season, and so she deserved that first place win more than anyone I can think of."
The sabre squad took home the Vitalli Cup, given to the top team of each weapon category.
"The Vitalli cup was great because it's a testament to the amount of work and dedication that the rest of my squad put into practice," Zouein said.
Rouding out the weapons, the foil squad also had a successful showing. Junior Julia Shih finished 7-6 in the A slot, Kraut went 8-5 in the B slot, and freshman Emily Cooperman ended 7-6 in the C slot. In addition, Kraut edged out another foil fencer by one touch to make it into the individual round, where she finished in ninth place.
Making into the individual round is a difficult task, and for newcomers Kraut and Barger, it marks the potential for two very promising fencers.
"Jaime and Diana did wonderfully for their first championships," Zouein said. "They've both improved dramatically from the beginning of the year. I'm really proud of both of them for getting into the individual competition."
The women have two remaining competitions for the 2004-2005 season. The National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championships will be held next weekend in Philadelphia and will include 15 fencing teams from New England, New York and Virginia. The NCAA regional qualifiers will take place the following weekend.
Kraut, Zouein, Barger, Cooperman and Shih all qualified for the event.
