Some teams can look at records of 7-6 and 12-6 and call it a season. Fencing calls it a weekend.
Facing numerous opponents over just two days, both the men's and women's fencing teams managed to play magnificently against both Division I and Division III schools.
For the women, the team left the Northwestern Invitational with seven wins and six losses. The men left with eight wins and five losses. That same weekend, the split-squad men's team also played in the Stevens Tech duals and went 4-1.
Although the men's team played with less than the usual amount of players due to the interfering conferences, they still managed to fulfill their expectations.
"It was pretty much how I expected," said men's head coach Austin Young. "We came out very strong in all of our matches."
In the Northwestern Invitational, the men's team had many hard matches but managed to beat University of Michigan and Cal State-Fullerton in two of their closest competitions. Hopkins also beat strong squads from Michigan State, Lawrence, and Northwestern.
In several close games, however, the Blue Jays lost to UC San Diego and University of North Carolina. Although the team was unable to beat Notre Dame, last year's NCAA champions, overall, the Jays shocked themselves by winning the foil category.
"It was a very pleasant surprise," said Young.
For the Stevens Tech duals, the Blue Jays were able to secure several very important wins. For the first time, Hopkins beat Army in a close 14-13 match. Against New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Blue Jays' 5fp5fe team completely shut out the opposition.
Both junior Tom Fellows and freshman Dane Schiro were undefeated for several of the epee matches. Hopkins also did well in saber and foil, especially in the meet against Army, which tipped the balance in the Blue Jays' favor.
The women also did well at Northwestern, beating several high-ranking teams. For the first time in women's fencing history, Hopkins beat Air Force. In addition, despite losing to University of Michigan last year, Hopkins came back to beat them this year after a tight 14-13 contest.
"We beat the schools that we should have," said women's head coach Jim Murray. "We were very mentally focused for two days." The women also lost a close game to Wayne State.
The team members also felt that they met their expectations.
"We held our own," said team captain Katherine Dunne. "We fenced against teams that recruit and we managed to come out ahead."
Many of the teams that Hopkins plays against offer athletic scholarships and recruit internationally.
The Blue Jay women also suffer from a lack of players, especially when compared with other schools. While most teams have player depth in their bench with 15-18 fencers, the Lady Jays currently have only ten fencers.
This leads to mental and physical exhaustion at the longer tournaments such as at Northwestern, where essentially all ten fencers have to compete for two straight days. The fencers have a harder time keeping their focus and trying to avoid a mental overload.
"It's tough when you don't have people to replace you," said Dunne. "That's why we really emphasize fitness so that we have the stamina for these tournaments."
The main thing that Hopkins took away from the tournament was learning experience.
"It's a great experience to go to this, especially for the freshmen," said Dunne.
Murray agreed.
"We now have a good idea of what the top college fencers do, now having seen them all play," said Murray. "We come back so much smarter. We're tremendously enriched by just being at that tournament."
The women's team will have a chance to put their new knowledge to work this weekend.
At the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association's (NIWFA) Christmas Invitational at Farleigh Dickenson, the Blue Jays will compete individually, instead of for team placement
"In an individual tournament, we preview schools that we'll see later on in the year," said Murray. "It gives us a chance to see what's out there."
These long tournaments are inevitable for the Jays, but for both the men and women, the motivation and challenges are one and the same.
"We've got a strong season in front of us, as well as many strong teams to face," said Murray.
