Men's, women's fencing both tally three wins in difficult weekend meet

One word that describe Princeton fencing in the Ivy League: tradition. For years Princeton fencing has always been a major force in the league. This year, it seems no different.

The Princeton men's and women's fencing squads overcame a huge challenge Saturday with wins in three matches, one against Ivy rival Columbia and the others against powerhouse St. John's and in-state rival Rutgers. Saturday's successes brought both teams to 6-1 on the season — and more importantly 1-0 in the Ivy League.

The men's team held onto tight leads against Columbia and St. John's, winning both matches 15-12. The win against the Red Storm was only Princeton's second in the last five years. They also defeated Rutgers decisively 16-11. The women's team, on the other hand, had a slight edge over Columbia, 15-12, but cruised past St. John's, 16-11, and Rutgers, 19-8. Both teams knew that the Columbia match was most important.

"We were focused on that one meet," junior epee Maya Lawrence said. "It's part of the Ivy League, and we've won the Ivy [title] the last two years."

And stay focused they did. Both teams won big in the epee and sabre against Columbia, and even though they struggled in the foil, they still had enough to come out on top.

Intensity and enthusiasm have been the key to the Tiger's success this season. In every match this weekend, the the fencers rallied around their teammates as they battled it out against the opposition.

One who received many cheers was Lawrence. The junior had a stellar performance and finished the weekend undefeated in eight bouts. One of those wins came against the Red Storm's Arlene Stevens, a U.S. Olympian.

"I was kind of nervous about it," Lawrence said. "I didn't really go in with the mindset of, 'she's going to beat me,' because I have fenced her before and we know how she fences."

Lawrence was not the only Tiger who defeated the Olympian. Senior Kristiina Hurme turned in a big win over Stevens and a solid performance on the day, finishing 7-0.

The women's team was also helped out by the great performances of sophomore foil Mindy Rostal (7-2), and senior sabres Alexa Chew and Amanda Jones (both 6-2).

Equal success

The men's squad also had similar successes. Freshman epee Soren Thompson finished with another tremendous performance, going 8-0 on the day.

"They [Columbia and St. John's] were a little bit weak in that they didn't have every one of their people there," Thompson said. "But we fenced great."

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The men's team also had three very solid matches. Many fencers performed well, with sophomore sabre Mike Brosterman finishing the weekend 7-2 and freshman foil Jonathan Jew-Lim winding up 6-3.

The team came in ready to fence and throughout the whole day, one could see the intensity grow in the team. This attitude showed in one of the biggest moments of the day, which came late in the match against St. John's.

The teams were tied, 9-9, with the last sabre bout approaching. Head coach Michael Sebastiani then made a gutsy call, substituting freshman Josh Younger for sophomore starter Ed Chou. The team cheered Younger on, keeping the intensity high for the bout. The gamble paid off, as Younger helped move his team closer to eventual victory with a win.

"It was great to see how many students and friends of fencers all came down to watch," Thompson said.

Now that both teams have their first wins in the Ivy League, they look to what challenges lie ahead. Next weekend they both head off to Penn, a team that is expected to give the men trouble. And, as always, looming ahead of both teams is the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton match at the end of February, which has decided the Ivy League title in past years.

When asked what the team needed to do in order to have a successful season, senior epee and team captain Lisa Leslie said, "I think it's a matter of keeping the enthusiasm going. This weekend, the squad leaders did a fantastic job keeping people excited."

Through enthusiasm and intensity, the tradition of Princeton fencing is still alive and well, and both teams are looking hungry for another Ivy League title.