The varsity fencing teams had an overall solid showing at this weekend's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Fencing Regionals in Madison, N.J. as they come to season's end.
While the Jays did not produce terrible results, they were still disappointed by a long, record-setting season fought for a merely good final tournament. Among those who were disappointed include junior foil, Grace Fried, who put it flatly, "I was really disappointed at this season's regionals," regarding the women's results.
However, the entire weekend spared a few highlights: Junior Ben Dorfman took a career-high sixth-place in the foil.
Other great performances include junior foil David Ferguson who placed 13th, missing the finals by a spot. Freshman Nick Krywopusk took home 16th in the epee, and in the sabre, senior Aaron Fernandes was Hopkins's top representative, finishing 19th.
On the ladies' side, freshman Sofia de Benedictis, junior Grace Fried and sophomores Samantha Dolan and Katie Kim all had above average performances in the foil, placing 17th, 19th, 20th and 22nd respectively.
Within the sabre division, freshman Mary Vitale captured 18th, leaving senior captain Cindy Liu to take 20th in the epee. Even though the ladies are proud of individual successes, the team is not content with their performance as a whole.
This past weekend, however, is atypical in comparison to the team's 2008 season. Some of the highlights for the men included the 25th overall title at the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association Championship and a 22nd epee title there, both records capturing runner-up positions in both the foil and the sabre.
The men's team also maintained a 26-11 overall record for the season, tying the school record for most wins in a single season.
The women's team also entertained a terrific season, placing third in the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championship, capturing a runner-up finish in the foil, taking fourth in the epee and placing eighth in the sabre. Captain Liu also obtained a spot on the NIWFA All-Academic Team.
Freshman Krywopusk is optimistically looking into the future, commenting, "Our skills are going to keep improving, so I predict we will have a good season next year."
