Top fencers polish skills at regionals en route to finals

It is the final stretch for every winter sport, and for fencing it is no different. The Tigers just completed the first tournament of the NCAAs. Although a full team did not compete, the strength of individuals on both the men's and women's teams should place some notable fencers at the top of their game.

The men's team did not have particular weight in older players or younger players but seemed to be pretty solid as they sent at least two fencers in each squad, vying for a finish to make the finals.

For men's epee, Princeton sent three fencers: sophomore Soren Thompson, junior Bill Beaver, and senior captain Matt Fitzgerald. Thompson placed seventh; Beaver, eleventh; and Fitzgerald led the pack placing second.

In foil the Tigers sent sophomore Jon Jew-Lim and freshman Eric Stodola. Jew-Lim finished eleventh and Stodola sixth.

In sabre, three juniors competed—Eddie Chou, Mike Brosterman, and Jim Leighton, with Chou finishing in sixth place.

The women's team had standout performances in epee with Seniors Lindsay Campbell and Maya Lawrence. Both have had tremendous seasons, leading the Tigers in scoring consistently this year. Lawrence finished in fourth place and Campbell had a successful tournament, placing first.

In foil the women relied on freshman Inhwa Song, proving that despite their relative youth, the Tigers were still able to carry on to the NCAA's. Song made it to the final round in the regional tournament, but it remains to be announced by the regional committee as to whether or not she will qualify for the finals. Since schools like Duke and Penn State, two of the national fencing powerhouses, can only send a maximum of two fencers to the tournament, Song has a better shot at reaching the finals.

Women's sabre also relied on a younger member of the team — freshman Catherine Pack. Pack was undefeated all day and ended the tournament in first place. After missing the Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournament due to an illness, Pack came back with a vengeance at this tournament.

The overall format of the tournament began in pools of five or six fencers, totaling around 25 to 30 people. Then it was a mere process of elimination as the second round had pools of four or five and the final round consisted of one pool of 12.

"For epee, there were a lot of extra people so you would sometimes have to fence people twice," Campbell said. "They wanted to make it as fair as possible so you would fence a round of five, then another five, then six; and then in the finals, you would fence five, six, and then 12."

Since Princeton will not be sending a full squad of 12 fencers into the final tournament, it is unlikely that the Tigers will have a real shot at finishing in the top places. Nevertheless, it will prove to be a major competition for the Tigers on an individual level.

"We can't really compete for a place because we don't have the full 12," Campbell said, "but it will be really important for each individual. If we all go in and fight as solidly as we did in the regionals, we should do well. We were all competitive and rose to the occasion. Inhwa [Song] fenced well and so did Catherine [Pack.] She has been sick and couldn't fence at IFA's so I was happy that she had this opportunity and fenced as well as she did."

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As for the next round, Princeton can look forward to sending Fitzgerald, Thompson, Stodola, and Chou on the men's side and Campbell, Lawrence, and Pack for the women.

Jew-Lim and Song may be taking their games to the final rounds as well, but that remains to be determined.

NCAAs will be held March 21-24 at Drew University.