Fencing club in Nationals

The Oberlin College Fencing Club has accomplished something few Oberlin sports teams do, they have qualified for the Division I National Championships.

Every division of the United States Fencing Association (USFA) may qualify two teams for each of the six weapons in fencing. Oberlin is in the Northern Ohio Division, along with Cleveland clubs such as On Target, Cyrano�s Place, Alcazar, and Saturn. The Fencing Club fielded teams in three weapons for the Division Qualifiers: one Women�s Foil team, one Men�s Foil, and one Men�s Épée.

The Women�s Foil team took first in their tournament, securing a position for that team in the Nationals. Men�s Épée did likewise, coming in second in their qualifying tournament. Men�s Foil took third in their qualifiers, narrowly missing a spot in the Nationals.

The qualifying tournament for Women�s Foil took place in Shaker Heights High School, home of Alcazar Fencing Club, on January 20. Only two teams competed for the positions in Women�s Foil, Oberlin�s team and a team from On Target; therefore both teams automatically qualified. However, Oberlin�s team, consisting of first-years Sara Skelton and Diana Paksarian, and junior Catie Bull, demonstrated superiority on the strip, winning every bout in the match and defeating On Target 45-39.

What is perhaps most impressive about this victory is that the three fencers have been fencing for only a little over a semester. The trio was introduced to fencing in September when they enrolled in the Introduction to Foil ExCo, where, under the tutelage of seniors Jay Gates and Matt Strine, they were trained in the art of swordplay. The three fencers continued training and fencing with Gates and Strine, as well as the other Oberlin fencers, throughout Winter Term.

The Men�s Foil qualifiers took place at the same tournament. Three teams competed, with Oberlin College, On Target, and Alcazar each entering one team. The Oberlin team consisted of junior Jaime Burns-France and sophomores Jeremy Stone and Stefan Kamola. Oberlin�s first bout was against On Target�s team. Although Oberlin ultimately lost 43-45, the team refused to make it easy for On Target, with Burns-France scoring eighteen points in the final bout. Oberlin also lost its second bout, against Alcazar�s team, 24-45, taking third place overall. Unfortunately the Men�s Foil team did not qualify for Nationals.

The Men�s Épée qualifiers also took place at Shaker Heights High School, on January 27. Oberlin competed in a direct elimination tournament against a team from On Target and two teams from Alcazar.

Oberlin�s Épée team consisted of Gates and Strine, and fellow senior Andreas Orphanides, with Stone as an alternate. Oberlin�s first bout was against Alcazar�s B team.

The two teams fenced in what was a heart-stopping match to the last minute, with Oberlin ultimately victorious at 45-44, thanks to strong fencing in the final bout from Strine. Oberlin moved on to fence Alcazar A, losing 26-45, but achieving second place overall and securing a place in the Nationals.

This is the first time the Fencing Club has qualified for Nationals since the mid-Eighties, and the Club is proud of their work. Not only did the Club qualify two teams for Nationals, but they have also had a strong season otherwise; another highlight was Strine�s taking first place in a D and Under tournament, earning him a �D� rating. �The Division is starting to take Oberlin a lot more seriously,� remarked Gates at the strengths the Club has shown this year.

The Division I National Championships take place on the weekend of Aug. 17, in South Bend, Indiana.

Andreas Orphanides is a member of the Fencing team.