Simeon named fencer of the year

In the team's fourth
meet in five weeks, the
Hopkins women's fencing
team showed no signs
of slowing down at the
Eastern Women's Fencing
Conference (EWFC) Individual
Championships
in Hoboken, N.J. this past
weekend. After claiming
the team's third consecutive
EWFC Team Championship
the previous weekend,
Hopkins returned to
New Jersey for an individuals
meet against some of
the best fencing Division
III had to offer.
Unlike last weekend's
team meet, this time
around each fencer would
face everyone in their respective
weapon group,
including teammates. Each
fencer would be ranked as
an individual, regardless
of school affiliation. Despite
the individual nature
of the meet, however, senior
foilist Jen Hession emphasized
that every Blue
Jay has each other's back.
"Even in individual
tournaments where you
compete against each other,
we still help each other out
and pump each other up,"
Hession said. "It's not hard
to feel proud of your teammates
when they do well."
For the foils, Hession
captured fourth place
while classmate Colleen
Stone finished ninth.
"Everyone seemed to
hold up in the face of pressure
and the pace...You
have to consistently perform
at your best because
each little mistake can really
hurt you in the final
standings," Hession said.
That consistent effort
led to Hopkins winning
recognition as the best foil
team at the meet.
In the sabre category,
sophomore Katherine
Simeon took home the first
place finish with a 15-2
overall record, followed by
fellow sophomore Kathleen
Rand who finished
third. With two finishers in
the top five, Hopkins also
won best sabre team.
As a result of her impressive
play, Simeon, a native
of Basking Ridge, N.J, was
named EWFC women's
fencer of the year. In addition
to her athletic prowess,
Simeon also doubles as one
of the News and Features
editors of The News-Letter.
Finally, the epees were
led by sophomore Liz Caris
who placed fourth while
freshman Gianna Puzzo
finished seventh. The Blue
Jays finished second as a
team behind host Stevens
Institute of Technology.
If tallying six top ten
finishes wasn't enough, all
of it was done without the
team's head coach, Austin
Young. That same weekend,
Young was in Salt Lake
City, UT coaching several
members of the Hopkins
fencing team competing in
the Junior Olympics.
In his place, graduate
students and former team
members Ian McCue and
Max Wieder stepped up
and coached the team during
their successful day.
They were also aided by senior
captain Lauren Chinn,
who sat out the meet due to
her nagging hip injury, and
senior Marion Trumbull,
who had been plagued
with severe knee problems.
Both upperclassmen
opted to travel with the
team and offer advice and
support for their respective
weapons; Chinn aided
the epeeists and Trumbull
the foilists.
The ride continues for the
Blue Jays, as they travel to
New York for the US Weapon
Squad Championships