W. Fencing overcomes D-1 teams, but not snow

Physically exhausted and barely able to stand, the women's fencing team landed in Baltimore in the wee hours of Monday morning. A snowy night in Chicago had kept the team stuck at O'Hare Airport until the weather had cleared around 1 a.m. Despite their late night and sore muscles, the Lady Jays had smiles on their faces, their stellar performance still vivid in their minds.

The team had fought a tough battle, fencing 11 total matches at the Northwestern Invitational, an event that spanned a mere two days. The gymnasium was filled with some of the country's fencing greats, including many Division I and II schools, but the Blue Jays came prepared. Saturday evening, Hopkins fenced against six teams, defeating four: Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Lawrence University, the University of Detroit and the University of Michigan.

"We took a big slice out of the Midwest," head coach Jim Murray said. The team came up short against the powerhouse of Notre Dame, but as they packed up their bags for the night, their battle was far from over.

The next morning, the Lady Jays came out strong against Division I Fairleigh-Dickinson University, led by senior foil and team captain Kim Strazdas, who broke a team record by tallying three straight wins at 8ep8ee.

"She really set the tone for the rest of the meet," Murray said. "She had a hot day. Very consistent. She was our real stand-out, but everyone else had very consistent performances." Rallying from Strazdas' performance, the team came out strong, beating Fairleigh-Dickinson and Division-I team Michigan State. Despite their exceptional performance, however, the excruciating competition proved to be a little too much for the Jays, as they fell to Northwestern, Temple and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all top Division I programs.

Despite the losses, the team remained optimistic and content with their performance. "I thought we did really well for such a long competition," freshman foil Samantha Dolan said. "It was pretty exhausting, but we gave a great effort. It was a fun trip overall despite the travel complications and we had a good time and did some good fencing."

"It was a really hard competition, but we fought really well against all the teams we faced, even the Division I teams," freshman foil Katie Kim said.

With their long journey having reached an end, the Jays now set their focus to next weekend, where they will make the trip up to Smith College in Northhampton, Mass., for the Women's National Championships. This tournament, like their previous competition, will include Division I and II teams, but the Jays remain confident in their ability.

"We normally do quite well," Murray said. "We're certainly one of the more highly thought of teams."

"We're really looking to pick up some hardware. I think it's a realistic goal [because] we have experience, and we have depth."

The women's fencing team has won the Army trophy in years past, and their appearance this upcoming weekend will surely make even the toughest Division I teams a little nervous.

Also this weekend, the men's fencing team delivered a strong showing at College of William & Mary in a tournament that included several teams in the Mid-Atlantic Conference. The Blue Jays placed third overall, finishing behind winners Haverford College and second-place Stevens Tech.

The Jays faced some of their toughest rivals at the tournament, including Haverford, William & Mary, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Drew, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Hunter College.

The Jays entered the tournament somewhat last-minute, originally scheduled to accompany the women's team to the Northwestern Invitational. However, their trip was cancelled, sending the boys south against their familiar foes. At Virginia, the men's foil team finished in second place, and the sabre team finished fourth. Senior sabre Andrew Carney, who missed making the trip to his home town of Evanston, Ill., fenced exceptionally well, finishing the day with 10 wins to only four losses.

"I felt alright out there," Carney said. "It was the first time I've ever gone, since I didn't start competing until my junior year."

Carney was quick to praise his fellow teammates Jake Sand, the junior sabre who finished with 12 wins and two losses; and David Hill, sophomore sabre, who finished 8-6.

The Blue Jays will head up to the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships in Madison, N.J., this coming weekend.