If the fencing team was nervous after losing half of its crew at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, the early success of its freshmen fencers should put the squad at ease.
The Jumbos graduated two seniors and lost two members from each squad to study abroad programs, yielding a team half-composed of rookies. Still, the team has not faltered this year, and this consistency is largely the result of good dynamics amongst the new fencers.
"The freshmen have definitely bonded," freshman Amani Smathers said. "We'll be the team in a couple years and we'll be having a great time. With the upperclassmen, it's hard because you never really know when they'll be fencing. But I think the freshmen are good as a team."
The freshmen fencers, along with senior saber captain Louisa May Zouein who lost only two of her 18 bouts, helped lead Tufts to a fourth-place finish in an MIT tournament held on Nov. 19. The Jumbos placed ahead of UMass, Smith, and BU, falling short of MIT, Brown, and Brandeis.
The tournament was especially successful for an ?©p?©e squad that has struggled recently, partially the result of the injuries sustained by its only experienced fencers, including sophomore captain Tracy Mayfield. Smathers swept the MIT epee squad, while freshman Rebecca Hughes swept the UMass ?©p?©e team.
"The ?©p?©e squad really came together at this meet, and they're really improving," Zouein said. "They're coming into their potential and becoming more comfortable."
In addition to the ?©p?©e squad, freshman Alexandra Cheetham was a bright spot for the saber squad.
"Cheetham improved dramatically," Zouein said. "[At the tournament] I told her to slow down and to clean up her fencing and it really did help - she did a very nice job."
"As a freshman coming onto the team, I thought it went really well," Cheetham added. "I fenced the whole time, and I didn't expect to be able to do that. That was really nice for me."
Though their performance may not indicate it, the format of the tournament was foreign to some of the freshmen who had only experienced individual competition in high school. At the MIT tournament, each fencer faced three other fencers from each school, but the large number of schools present at the tournament had some of the freshmen fencing much more than they were used to.
Even for those familiar with team competition, the experience still proved vastly different from high school contests, in which a school faces only one other school at a time and each team member fences three other fencers.
"I'm from Ohio, and there weren't a lot of other high school teams, so we did individual format," Smathers said. "[The coach and upperclassmen] tried to explain it, but it was the first time I'd ever done [this particular] format, so I just had to do it and figure it out."
Despite the increased difficulty, the tournament format has its advantages.
"It was different than high school, but it was a lot of fun and there was a lot of team spirit," freshman foil Naomi Bryant added. "Even though I'm a freshman and I might have made some mistakes, I felt like the team was there for me."
The freshmen hope to continue progressing as they adjust to collegiate play and gain more experience.
"I'm still trying to get to a point where I can use the new stuff that I'm learning," Cheetham said. "[Coach Jason Sachs] is really helpful and always willing to give me a lesson, and [Zouein] is as well. The drills and the practices are also really useful. I think I have a ways to go, but I think I'm improving so far."
"Our coach gives good lessons," Smathers said. "We also practice with the guys' [club] team so that helps, too. Sometimes we go to individual clubs and that's really good experience - basically just getting all the experience you can with different fencers is the best way to improve."
