Led by junior Katherine Simeon and freshman Rachel Viqueira, six Blue Jays were placed on the Eastern Women's Fencing All-Conference team on Feb. 18 in Hoboken, N.J. Simeon decimated the opposition at the fencing competition last Saturday, winning 16 out of her 17 bouts. She has now earned First Team EWFC All-Conference honors for the third straight season. She is currently 63-16 for the season and 244-87 for her career. Simeon was also honored with the Denise O'Connor Fencer of the Year honors in the Sabre and Foil.
Freshman Rachel Viqueira also achieved Denise O'Connor Fencer of the Year honors in the Foil. She won 17 out of her 18 bouts to win the EWFC Foil and now has improved to 61-14 on the season.
As a freshman, she is slowly becoming the new face of the Hopkins women's fencing team. Viqueira success comes as no surprise; she was highly recruited by several schools for her fencing ability.
During her time at Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, Viqueira was a Junior Olympian. She was a member of the gold medal Junior Olympic women's foil team while fencing for the Gutkovsky A foil team. Her success has inevitably carried her to the collegiate level. Viqueira commented on her success as a freshman stating,
"Staying cool under pressure is something I think about during matches. My ability to focus helps me visualize what I need to do to win. Fencing is a mental game, and the mind always needs to be in tune with the moves I'm going to make. Knowing when to attack and when to resist attack are always some of the hardest decisions to make."
While the two stars have been making noise this season, there are many other members that have shared the team's glory. Junior Jackie Heath finished in fourth place with a 15-3 record and earned First Team All-EWFC honors for the second time in her career. She improved to 56-18 on the season and 224-85 in her career. Freshman Ashley Lau finished in seventh place after going 12-6, earning Second Team All-EWFC honors with a 44-25 record.
Last year, sophomore Gianna Puzzo finished seventh place in the Epee, but this year she improved upon her standing by winning 14 out of 17 bouts. On top of that accomplishment, she also earned First Team All-EWFC accolades. Kelly Seeger also displayed tenacity by coming back from five early losses. Seeger went on to win seven straight and finished out at 11-6 for the day taking sixth place. She also earned Second Team All-EWFC honors and she had this much to say about the event.
"I really believe that our team’s preparation really showed today at the EWFC. We have been on a roll lately, and we want to continue our success as we progress throughout the season. I think that the friendship and camaraderie amongst our team is something special that has helped us do very well. We all have good work ethics, and we all believe that we can do anything,” Seeger said.
“Congrats to Rachel and Katherine for receiving Player of the Year honors. I'm very happy for them as well as the rest of my teammates."
Seeger also commented on how head coach Austin Young has made a positive impact on the team.
"We all appreciate what Coach Young has done for us, by preparing us for the important competitions. We owe a lot of our success to him."
All the women's team can do now is prepare for the most important competition of the year: the NCAA Regional Championship.
