W. Fencing is best in D III; men take third at MACFA

Coach Jim Murray of the women's fencing team walked off the bus at 6 o'clock Sunday morning with blue hair and a smile on his face. Before the team left for the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championships at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., Murray promised his team that if they won some trophies, they could dye his hair blue. Whether it was for personal glory or simply the thought of seeing their coach resemble a Smurf, the team rose to the challenge in full force, finishing 17-1 for the tournament, and placing second overall in the team competition, once again winning the coveted Army Trophy. So too did the men's team enjoy success, albeit with less hair discoloration. They fought to a third-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) Championships in Madison, N.J. this past Saturday.

The Lady Jays' performance won them the Division III title, establishing the team as the top Division III school in the entire nation. The Blue Jays' only loss came at the hands of Temple University, the only D-I team in the tournament.

"We were really looking to upset Temple," Murray said. "We weren't fencing to come in second. We were fencing to win."

Both the sabre and foil teams finished second in the team competition, and in the individual competition, five of the Jays' nine fencers fought their way into the finals. Sophomore sabre Erica Hartmann finished with a second-place medal and sophomore foil Grace Fried finished fourth. All eyes, however, were on senior sabre and team captain Sarah Smilow as she raked in the fourth place prize, winning her seventh NIWFA medal in her four-year career. The example set by the team's upperclassmen provoked a truly stellar performance from the Blue Jays' freshman squad.

Freshman foil Katie Kim had a phenomenal day, finishing the tournament undefeated in the C-strip of the team division. With each win, Murray would approach the young fencer with the same incantation: "Smooth. Repeat after me. I'm so smoooooth!" Despite her amazing performance, the humble Kim could only praise her coach and fellow teammates.

"The team's doing really well," she said. "As a freshman coming in and not knowing a whole lot, they were really helpful throughout the season." Freshman foil Samantha Dolan also had a tremendous performance, finishing first in the B-strip of the team competition and top 16 in the individuals. "I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but there's always next year," Dolan said. "It was a really long day, but I think it was worth it. I think this is the best we've ever done under Coach Murray." Five Lady Jays -- Smilow, Hartmann, Fried, Kim and Dolan -- qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament, and will make the trip up to Teaneck, N.J., this coming Saturday.

The men's fencing team also had an outstanding tournament, finishing third in the team competition at the MACFA Championships. The foil team finished second for the evening, the 8ep8ee team third and the sabre team fourth. But solid results aside, the competitive squad still wanted bigger and better things.

"We hoped to finish higher," men's head coach Austin Young, said. "We weren't entirely satisfied, but everyone fenced hard."

The team was led by the strong performance of sophomore foil Ben Dorfman, who finished 11-3 in the A-strip division. Junior sabre and co-captain Jake Sand and sophomore 8ep8ee Dan Schiro both finished 11-2 in the B-strip division, and sophomore foil David Ferguson finished the day undefeated in the C-strip division. Although all four of the fencers qualified for the individual competition to be held later in the day, snowstorms and icy roads forced the team to pack up their bags and make the trip back to Baltimore before they could compete.

With the team's regular season at its end, Young was extremely proud of his team. "We had a very young team with only four seniors, two of whom were starters," Young said. "We made a lot of improvement throughout the year, and we can only go forward going into next season."

"This was the most exciting season I've been through," senior foil and co-captain Nick Marchuk said. "We've gotten better each year, and I've really enjoyed taking the leadership position this year."

The men's qualifiers will accompany the Lady Jays up to Teaneck, N.J., for the NCAA Regional Championship this coming weekend. "I'm pretty psyched [about the tournament]," sophomore foil David Ferguson said. "I don't have the best seed, but I certainly have a good chance to do well."

Will he do well enough for Young to adopt a hairstyle to match his women's team counterpart? We'll find out.