After declining to attend the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIFWA) Championships Feb. 24 due to inclement weather, the fencing team headed to its final tournament of the season, the NCAA Northeast Regionals held at Vassar on Sunday.
The Jumbos' final performance, however, was not their strongest, as none of the fencers made it past their second round of direct elimination bouts.
Freshman epeeist Coryn Wolk had the top performance for the team, garnering 16th place out of a field of 40 epee fencers. Meanwhile, junior foil captain Christine Lee placed 20th of 40 foilists, and sophomore sabre captain Alex Cheetham took 21st of 41 sabre fencers.
"Coryn, Alex and Christine all performed beautifully," coach Jason Sachs said. "Alex, in her first round, breezed through Brown, Brandeis and Vassar. Christine went 4-2 in her pool, beating a Columbia fencer along the way. Coryn was solid, going 4-2 in her first pool and missing the cut to 15 by a touch."
The regional tournament is unique in comparison to other meets held throughout the regular season, serving as the qualifier for the NCAA's national tournament. In order to punch a ticket to Regionals, fencers had to compete in a minimum number of bouts over the season and win at least 25 percent of them.
In total, the Jumbos qualified six fencers for the trip to Vassar this year: sophomore foilist Naomi Bryant and sophomore epeeists Amani Smathers and Rebecca Hughes, in addition to Wolk, Lee, and Cheetham. Bryant placed 34th in foil, while Hughes and Smathers took 37th and 38th respectively in epee.
Unfortunately for Tufts, none of these fencers could take the next step and earn a Nationals qualification.
"No one made it, but it's okay because it was still an awesome tournament," Lee said. "Everyone got good experience, since the fencers were amazing. [My] second round was pretty difficult because I had four of the top-seeded fencers in my pool. I'm not too upset because it's one thing to lose to someone who's your level and another thing to compete with these girls, who have made fencing their lives."
For Tufts, the regional tournament has always presented daunting opponents and tough matchups. The Jumbos' small Div. III team goes head-to-head against some of the best Div. I programs in the country, including Columbia, Harvard and St. John's.
"The disappointing thing was that no one really expected to do well today," said Smathers, who is also an assistant layout editor for the Daily. "Since it wasn't a team event, people didn't even have the incentive to do well for the rest of the team, [and] that may have influenced some people's lack of drive as well. A lot of people were just happy that the season is over."
Nevertheless, the Jumbos managed some strong bouts Sunday against solid competition.
"My favorite bout was against a Columbia girl," Lee said. "I think she expected an easy win, and she was leading 0-4, but I came back 5-4, which felt awesome."
Wolk said that she won the majority of her bouts in the first round, but after getting dizzy in the second, she dropped a few matchups. In the end, she missed the third round by only one touch.
"On the good side, though, there was no one who I saw or fenced who seemed unbeatable," she said. "My worst loss was 5-3. So I think my chances are pretty good for next year, when I'll hopefully have a better season record and not screw up my second round. Also, now I have a better idea of what college tournaments are like and how the system works."
While the end of the season did not bring any Cinderella qualifications for Nationals, the Jumbos seem ready for a break and the opportunity to reflect on what was an up-and-down season, which ends with a 6-16 overall record. Still, the Jumbos managed to gain valuable experience for such a young team and intend to return next year refreshed and with more experience under their belts.
"I'm proud of our team because even though we're little ... We do well for ourselves," Lee said. "Next year, I just hope that we get more support from the athletic department."
