The Hopkins men’s fencing team came out victorious at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) championship this past Sunday in College Park, Md.
Returning to the championship for the first time since 2009, the team claimed 96 wins and finished first overall, winning the Richard F. Oles Three-Weapon Team Trophy.
This is the 26th time the Blue Jays have grabbed the MACFA title. This Sunday, Hopkins also claimed the Epeé and Sabre titles, while they finished third in the Foil.
The three-weapon title is Hopkins’s first win since 2008 after not competing from 2010 to 2012.
This is the 23rd time the Blue Jays won the Epee title, and the 25th time they won the Sabre title.
In addition to the team competitions, the Blue Jays performed well in the single competitions.
Freshman John Petrie won the Foil title and advanced to the semifinals after fencing teammate Glenn Balbus, also a freshman.
Petrie is the first Hopkins fencer to win the MACFA Foil title since 2003, and the first freshman to win a MACFA title since 2001.
When asked about how the team prepared for the MACFA championship, Balbus mentioned the team’s preparation.
“Our coach stressed the importance of consistency,” Balbus said. “We practiced four days a week, combined with additional private lessons to better our techniques. It’s a big commitment, but it’s something that the entire team really enjoys doing.”
Freshman Brent Schottenfeld also advanced of out pool play, but was knocked out in the first round of finals. When asked about the overall competition,
“Winning the championships was the collective effort of all the squads and we were all confident in our abilities to win,” Schottenfeld said.
In the Sabre, freshman Josiah Yiu also advanced to the finals but was knocked out in the first round.
When asked about winning as a team, Yiu said, “Winning MACFAs was an extremely satisfying experience, particularly winning the Sabre Team Championship, which we haven't won since 1998.”
Sophomore Aravind Menon, who got knocked out at the same time as Yiu, spoke about how it felt to return to the MACFAs.
“It had been four years since we were in this conference and we wanted to come back and show everyone that we could still be serious competition,” Menon said.
He continued to disclose how the team prepared for the championships. “From the beginning of the season, everyone put all they had into practice and with the help of our captain Nik Barbera leading us, our spirit was so high, and skill so sharp no one could stop us. But obviously there is still much room for improvement.”
Their captain, senior Nik Barbera, who won four titles in the Sabre, was able to lead the team to the win.
When asked about his experience, Barbera said, “Being captain, especially after this weekend, has been an amazing experience. I could not have asked for a better group of guys to compete with, and each and every fencer that was there on Sunday helped bring about what we did.”
Barbera recognized the high stakes of the competition.
“The stakes were high. We had already won the title over 27 times previously, and had a reputation to live up to,” he said. “We hadn't been in the conference for the majority of my college career, and this year was the first time that we were eligible to compete in the championships in a while. You can imagine the expectations that were put on us by our coach and the alumni. In regards to our victory, all I have to say is: MACFAs, we're back."
Hopkins has their next match up on Saturday, March 9 at the 2013 NCAA Fencing Regional at Lafayette College.
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