Fencing cruises to several victories

Intersession involved many victories for the Hopkins men’s fencing team. At the 2013 Hopkins Invitational in November, Hopkins earned wins over Army, Hunter and Yeshiva. At the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 16, the team beat Boston College for their fourth straight win. Sophomores Mark Zimmermann and John Petrie led Hopkins in the Epee and Foil, respectively. They each achieved their 100th win of their careers.

The men entered the spring semester with a 5-6 record, after several tough losses to Stevens Tech, Air Force, MIT, Columbia, Brandeis and Brown. On Jan. 25 the men returned from winter break to compete in the Philadelphia Invitational.

The Blue Jays put up a strong fight at the Philadelphia Invite, winning all five of their bouts. Petrie and freshman Patrick Rose won 12 bouts each to lead Hopkins with wins over Sacred Heart, North Carolina, Drew, NJIT and Haverford.

Hopkins opened the invitational with a win over Sacred Heart, winning by one with a final team score of 14-13. Sacred Heart won the Epee by 6-3, although freshman Nathaniel Green won two bouts for the Blue Jays. Hopkins won the Foil 6-3 and the Sabre 5-4 to claim the overall team win.

Sophomore Glenn Balbus, who is a captain for the team, won all three of his bouts in the Foil, while Petrie won two. In the Sabre, Rose and junior Paul Vitale won two bouts each.

The Blue Jays went against the North Carolina Tar Heels next, winning just one of the three weapons. The Tar Heels won in the Sabre and Epee, with scores of 6-3 and 7-2, respectively. However, a 9-0 sweep by Hopkins in the Foil allowed them to clinch the victory over North Carolina. Balbus, Petrie, and senior Evan Stafford each grabbed three wins each, dominating the Foil competition. Green and Zimmermann each won bouts in the Epee.

When asked about the season, Zimmermann said, “As the season progresses, the team is not only improving our physical skills, but also increasing our mental toughness. All of the work that the entire team put in during all of our Intersession practices was validated in the two one point victories against the highly ranked Division I teams Sacred Heart and UNC.”

He continued to say, “Through each practice we focus on continual improvement and push each other to constantly work harder. Hopefully, all of our work will pay off at the MACFA Championships and at NCAA Regionals later in the season.”

The bouts continued to get easier as the meet went on, as the Blue Jays only lost in one weapon in their final nine bouts. Against Drew, the men took the Foil and the Sabre in a sweep, but dropped the decision in the Epee. However, Zimmermann and sophomore Andy Huang won two bouts each for Hopkins in the Epee. Petrie, Stafford, and junior Robert Goldhirsch each won three bouts in the Foil, and Vitale, Rose, and freshman Daniel Dembner did the same in the Sabre.

Hopkins then defeated NJIT in a sweep of all three weapons. Some key players include Menon, who had a sweep in his bouts to lead Hopkins in the Sabre. Balbus, Petrie, and Goldhirsch won two bouts each to lead Hopkins 6-3 in the Foil. Huang and Zimmerman led in the Epee with two wins each in a close 5-4 win.

Finally, Hopkins closed the invitational with a win over Haverford, once again sweeping all three weapons. Green, Huang, and Zimmermann each won two bouts in the Epee. In the Foil, Balbus, Stafford and Petrie fought hard to win the round. In the Sabre, Rose and Menon won three bouts each, giving the Blue Jays an 8-1 victory.

Freshman Dylan Etzel said, “The meet in Philadelphia went great; we pulled off close 14-13 wins against Sacred Heart and UNC, and beat Drew, NJIT, and Haverford to go 5-0. The season has gone pretty well so far, and we're optimistic about the future.”

Rose echoed Etzel’s sentiments, “The season has been successful. We did well at our home meet and were undefeated in Philadelphia. Now we are looking forward to the meet at Duke and the MACFA meet up at Drew.”

The Blue Jays will return to compete at the Duke Invitational on February 8.