Colwell's Court: Tiger Gao – Fencing

Following a tremendous effort at last weekend’s MACFA and NIWFA Championships, the men’s and women’s fencing teams headed to Easton, Pa. on March 11 for the 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional.

Competition was fierce throughout the entire tournament. Faced with top D-1 programs such as Princeton University, Penn State, Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania, the Jays certainly had their work cut out for them. Nonetheless, Hopkins had a strong showing across all six events in which they were entered.

For the women, freshman Katherine Xiang finished 26th in the Foil event, while senior Katherine Couch and junior Mailys Vignoud placed 27th and 28th in the Épée event, respectfully. Meanwhile, freshman Erin Chen had a remarkable eighth place finish in the Sabre event.

The men had similarly strong results: Sophomore Solomon Polansky’s 23rd place finish in the Foil and junior Sandy Vingoe’s 17th place finish in the Sabre were among the University’s best performances in the tournament.

But the highlight of the competition for the Jays was in the men’s Épée tournament. For his impressive 11th place finish, freshman Tiger Gao has been named this week’s Athlete of the Week.

Gao has been a standout performer in his first year at Hopkins. Tying for third place in the Épée at the MACFA Championship a week ago, Gao was a crucial piece in the men’s victory in the Épée championship and their claim to the overall team title. This past weekend, Gao was the top performer among division three schools with his 11th place finish in the men’s Épée competition.

Following the weekend, Gao sat down with The News-Letter to discuss his rookie year at Hopkins and his expectations going forward.

Gao, welcome to the Court!

The News-Letter: Coming off last week’s third place finish in the MACFA Championship, how confident did you feel going into the 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional?

Tiger Gao: Although my high finish last week at MACFA Championships was definitely a confidence boost, Regionals is a different caliber of competition, with the majority of fencers representing D-I programs. I knew the field was extremely tough, but I was determined to do my best.

N-L: Was the team generally happy with their performance at this year’s Mid-Atlantic/South Regional?

TG: The whole team had a strong showing throughout the entire season, including at regionals. My teammate Erin Chen also made the final pools and finished eighth overall. With two fencers in the final round, we had the best results of any D-III team. Of course, we always strive to improve our performance and aim for an even better result next season.

N-L: How did it feel to place 11th among such high caliber competition?

TG: While 11th place is a very good result, especially as a freshman, I feel like I was not able to give it my best due to an injury in the final round. It is frustrating to know that I was only one victory away from qualifying for NCAA Nationals.

N-L: When you first started fencing, were you drawn to Épée right away, or did you start off with a different sword? What about Épée in particular appeals to you?

TG: All fencers at my fencing club start out with foil to learn the basics and then pretty much everyone switches to Épée. My club did not offer competitive Foil or Sabre programs, so Épée was the natural choice.

N-L:How important is it to have mental toughness in the sport of fencing?

TG: In the sport of fencing, the physical conditioning is only half of the equation. The mentality that goes along with it is equally as important.

When everything happens so fast, it is extremely important that you are ready to react appropriately to anything, especially in Épée, which is known to be a mind game. You play with the distance, do preparations and try to lure your opponent into a trap or to force them to make a fatal mistake. In order to do that, you have to have a sharp tactical sense and you have to be ready for anything, no matter how frustrated or tired you are.

N-L: Looking forward, do you have any personal goals you would like to achieve over your next three years at Hopkins?

TG: Being so close to qualifying for NCAAs this year, I am aiming to improve my fencing so that I can qualify next year. Over the next three years, I am hoping to rejoin the competitive fencing scene (not college) after a year and a half absence.