Fencing team sharp at home opener

A new fencing season has opened and Oberlin's own Flaming Blades began their competition with a clear memory of ranking nationally last April. Oberlin placed 12th in Division I team ratings in each of the teams they fielded - the men's and women's foil squads and the men's épée squad. At that time, the whole of the women's team had just completed the first semester fencing ExCo.

Last Sunday, the Blades competed in their second tournament of the year, hosted in Hales gym. After a poor showing the week before in Cleveland, they went on to place in each weapon at home, as the men's and women's foil teams and the men's and women's épée teams delivered fine performances before the home crowd.

Senior team captain Jay Gates won the men's foil competition. He took the final bout to "la belle" (14-14) and scraped out the final touch with a straight attack to the chest of Jim Helge, a product of the Alcazar fencing team. Senior Adam Smith pulled off fourth place to give the men's foil competition a heavy Oberlin contingent in the higher rankings.

The men's épée team saw alumnus and last year's captain, senior Matty Strine, returning to take third place, placing Oberlin in the rankings despite being the only male épée fencer fielded for the day's competition.

In a brutal set of direct elimination bouts in which Oberlin fencers were forced to knock each other out, Astrid Burnett, a Theater and Dance professor who fences with both Oberlin and a Cleveland fencing club, On Target, claimed third place in Women's foil.

On a whim, junior Catie Bull entered her first épée tournament ever. She took third place and put Oberlin in the rankings for a weapon they didn't even know they had a fencer for. And this whim has expanded Oberlin's participation in tournaments and in the number of teams they can field.

The Flaming Blades are a club that has grown significantly over the past couple of years, but has not gotten much attention in the Oberlin sports community despite being nationally ranked last year. But last weekend's overwhelming success suggests that this is a young team to keep an eye on. The fencing club will be hosting two more tournaments at Oberlin come second semester.

Jay Gates is a member of the fencing team