The Hopkins men’s and women’s fencing teams had plenty of successful season opening performances this past weekend at the Temple Open. The tournament was held in Philadelphia, Pa. and saw seven Hopkins fencers place in the top-10 of their respective weapons.
On the men’s side the Jays were dominant in the Foil. A Foil is the most common weapon used in competition and target areas for the weapon include both the torso and groin. Hopkins placed three fencers in the top 10 and four more in the top 15 in this weapon division. All five Jays who participated in the Foil finished in the top 35 out of 87 competitors overall.
Sophomore John Petrie led Hopkins with his sixth place finish in the Foil. Though he finished third in last year’s tournament, this performance was a solid start to his season. Sophomore Glenn Balbus placed eighth in the weapon improving 10 spots from his 18th place performance in the Temple Open a year ago. Sophomore Jonathan Mui placed 10th dropping seven spots from his bronze performance as a freshman in the 2012 tournament. Senior Evan Stafford finished his final Temple Open on a positive note finishing in the top 15 in the event for the third straight year. He placed 13th overall on Saturday. This adds to his 11th place finish in 2011 and his 12th place finish in 2012. Rounding out the Hopkins Foil competitors was sophomore Thomas Chen who finished 35th overall.
“The tournament went quite well for us overall,” Stafford said. “I think almost all of us were fencing very well, and one of our new freshman even made it into the top 8 in his event which is pretty impressive for his first tournament as a member of the team. If we keep this up, I suspect that we have a pretty great season ahead of us.”
Not to be outshone, the three Jays competing in the Epee put in encouraging performances as well. The Epee is the modern derivative of the dueling sword, and the target area for this weapon is the entire body of each competitor. Leading the way for the Jays in this event was newcomer Nathaniel Green who enters his freshman year of competition this season. Green led the Jays with his sixth place finish in the event and was the second highest Division III fencer in the tournament. Sophomore Andy Huang jumped 10 spots from last year and finished 10th overall in the weapon. Fellow sophomore Mark Zimmerman put in a solid performance as well, taking 26th place.
In the third weapon, the Sabre, two Jays placed in the top 30. Junior Paul Vitale finished 17th overall marking his third straight top 20 performance in the Temple Open (he was third in 2012 and 12th in 2011). Freshman Daniel Dembner opened his Hopkins career with a 27th place finish in the event.
The women’s fencing team featured some great opening performances as well. Multiple Jays placed in the top half of their respective weapons, and junior Rachel Kalina fought her way to a second career medal at this tournament.
Kalina had great things to say about the team’s first tournament. “I thought the team fenced very well overall,” Kalina said. “It was a strong tournament for a Division III school, especially with the mix of DI competitors that attended. We will continue to get better if we keep working on our tactics and technique.”
“It was a really great start to the season, not only on how people performed athletically, but also how everyone came together to support each other,” senior Captain Jackie Heath said. “There was a strong showing of school spirit and team morale. The freshman had great opening performances. We’re starting to get into great shape for the rest of the season.”
Kalina led the way for a quartet of Hopkins fencers who all finished in the top 58 in the Sabre. With this weapon a fencer can score by striking their opponent from the waist up. Unlike the other two weapons it is possible to score with the edge of the blade. Kalina placed second behind Temple’s own Tiki Kastor but was the tournament’s highest Division III finisher in her weapon. Finishing in 27th place was sophomore Isabella So with junior Sarah Hewes placing 45th. Rounding out the Sabre competitors was freshman Nancy Kim who finished 58th.
As with the men’s team, a fresh face led the women’s Hopkins Epee team. Freshman Katherine Couch started her Blue Jay career on the right foot by placing 10th overall. She outperformed most Division III competition by placing second overall in the division. After Couch, Hopkins placed four fencers in a row from 24th to 27th. Senior Liz Caris placed 24th and was immediately followed by freshmen Charlotte Green, Rachel Jandak and Natasia Winey. This was an extremely successful weapon for the women as all five of their competitors placed in the top 30.
In the Foil sophomore Rachel Viqueria had the highest finish in the group of four Jays. Viqueria placed 14th overall and was the top Division III fencer in the Foil. The next highest finisher for the Jays was senior Jackie Heath who finished 20th overall in the weapon. After Heath, the Jays placed their last two fencers inside the top 50. Sophomore Abigail Delamater (30th overall) and junior Ilana Regenbogen (50th overall) rounded out the fencers competing for the Jays in this event.
Both of these teams are idle next week and return to competition Saturday, Nov. 9 in Happy Valley. They will compete in the annual Garret Penn State Open and look to expand on their opening tournament success.
