Although the fencing team was swept this weekend in Waltham, Mass., Saturday's meet was much more successful than the numbers reveal for a Tufts team that went up against top-notch regional competition.
Despite falling 16-11 to Brandeis, 17-10 to Boston College and 19-8 to both Cornell and Yale, many of the Jumbos fenced excellently against their Div. I opponents.
"These are historical fencing programs," coach Jason Sachs said. "We are very respectable - we're not going to beat them most of the time, but we're definitely competitive, and our individuals shine and can compete at that level. That's basically the best we can do."
Once again, the epee squad led the Jumbos in Saturday's effort, beating two schools to go .500 for the day. Both the squad's wins were commanding, as it defeated Brandeis 6-3 and BC 7-2. The Brandeis victory was especially rewarding for the epees, who got revenge after falling to the Judges on Nov. 17.
"I'm extremely happy with the gains the team made against Brandeis," Sachs said. "They thought they were going to have an easy win, and the Brandeis coach thought he could substitute against us. Then he realized that his team was losing in epee, and he got very nervous."
Both sophomore epee co-captain Amani Smathers and freshman Coryn Wolk had especially solid performances, with Wolk going 9-3 against a strong field of competitors.
The foil and sabre squads did not share the same level of success, losing to each of their opposing schools. But the groups did not go without some impressive individual performances, with junior foil captain Christine Lee and sophomore sabre captain Alex Cheetham each winning a number of bouts.
Lee, who was hit-or-miss in the team's last meet, was much more consistent on Saturday, going 2-1 against Brandeis, Cornell and Yale before dropping two bouts to BC.
"Christine showed once again that she was one of the strongest fencers in the country, beating several strong fencers and people who were rated," Sachs said. "She faltered a little bit against BC, but it was at the end of the day. Every other team she went 2-1 against. Next time we face BC, I would bet Christine will do better."
Cheetham was similarly dominant. Although she was blanked by the Yale squad after dropping a bout 5-4, she posted 2-1 marks against the remaining three schools.
"Having fenced the same people beforehand, I could use that experience," Cheetham said. "I came back to beat quite a few of them who I had lost to in previous meets, especially with Brandeis and BC."
Senior Lauren Kari joined the team again for the meet, bringing more experience to the young sabre squad and winning a bout to boost the group. The sabres were rounded out by freshman Caccy Bowlus, who, like novice sabre fencers and classmates Mary Moseley, Carla Roberts-Toler and Sunetra Bane, has continued to make strides in her progress since the beginning of the season.
"[Bowlus] didn't win any of her bouts, but I can already begin to see an improvement in the way that she's fencing," Cheetham said. "All the freshmen on my team are really excited about the sport, and I think a couple meets into next semester they will have gotten the hang of things, and they'll begin to win bouts. But they're definitely improving every day.
"In terms of the freshmen on the other squads, they came in with a lot of experience, and it's been more of a question of getting them into the swing of things," Cheetham continued. "But we're becoming close as a team, and we've started to bond. This was a team meet, so it helped everyone's fencing to improve."
Next up will be a midweek showdown with Harvard, as the two teams will suit up today. Facing Harvard will be no easy task, as the Crimson came away with the NCAA title two years ago and still boasts one of the country's strongest teams. The meet will provide the chance for the Jumbos to see some high-quality fencing and to potentially boost their individual NCAA standings in the process.
"It's a really good opportunity for those of us who have the potential to beat some of their fencers to get the points we need to qualify for NCAAs," Cheetham said. "When you beat a fencer who is ranked really high, you get more of an advantage than you would if you just beat a regular freshman fencer. For the people who are going to win, it's going to be great."
"If we win three bouts, I'll be happy," Sachs said. "Last year Amani won two bouts against Harvard and Christine won one, and that made it a successful venture. Hopefully we'll be able to squeeze out three victories again."
