Athlete of the Week: Matthias Philippine - men’s fencing

Freshman fencer Matthias Philippine has had quite a strong season in his first year fencing at the college level. In his debut in December, Philippine exploded onto the scene with a 10-2 performance in the Brandeis Invitational in Waltham, Mass.

He followed up that performance with a solid act at the JHU Invitational this Sunday, contributing three wins. He also won a bout against the University of North Carolina at the Duke Invitational on Saturday. Philippine, whose weapon in fencing is the épée, was kind enough to answer a few questions for The News-Letter.

News-Letter: How did you first get into fencing? Where did you fence before coming to Hopkins?

Matthias Philippine: I got into fencing nine years ago when my older brother Johan was fencing in high school. I had tried soccer, swimming, gymnastics and archery, but sports didn’t appeal to me until I decided to try fencing after watching Johan fence one day. Before Hopkins, I used to fence at the East Bay Fencers Gym in Oakland, Calif. with my coach Abdul Habek.

N-L: What led you to choose Hopkins?

MP: JHU was on my college list because of its great academics and because of the fact that it has a fencing team. After visiting Hopkins, I thought the campus was beautiful and the people were great, so I ended up applying [early decision] and managed to get in with the help of Austin Young, the head fencing coach at Hopkins.

N-L: How did your training before coming to Hopkins prepare you to immediately succeed at the college level?

MP: Before Hopkins, I was fencing at a national and international level. My best result was top eight at a North American Cup for Cadets (under 17). Other than that, I usually finish in the top 32 for my age group and top 64 in national D-I fencing competitions. My training before Hopkins definitely set me up for success at the collegiate level thanks to my wonderful coach Abdul Habek and twin brother Thibault Philippine. While my coach taught me everything I know, my brother kept me sharp, as we would always compete and strive to gain the upper hand in fencing.

N-L: What have you been working on most in practice?

MP: No matter how many drills the team does during practice, the most helpful thing for me is to just fence as much as possible. During practice I like to work different things everyday. One day I’ll focus on preparation and setting up my attacks; on another I’ll work on my foot touches or parries.

N-L: What has been the biggest highlight of the year so far?

MP: The biggest highlight of the year personally was my performance for the team’s first meet at Brandeis. However, beating UNC as a team during our Duke meet was pretty great because they’re a D-I school, while we’re D-III. I didn’t help much that day with a 1-5 record [he went 1-1 against UNC and lost against Duke], but the team did a great job, with Mark Zimmermann leading the épée squad with a 5-1 record.

N-L: What would you like to improve on this season? What are your goals for the next three years at Hopkins?

MP: Over the course of the remaining season, I’d like to work on consistency. Although I did great during my first meet, our second meet at Duke didn’t go very well for me. Going forward I want to make sure I understand the mistakes I made at Duke and what led to my success at the Brandeis meet. A goal of mine over the next three years would be to qualify for the NCAA championships! For the team, though, I’d love to be able to build up the fencing program in any way that I can.

Philippine and the rest of the men’s fencing team will be in action on March 1 here in Baltimore at the MACFA Championships, which precede the NCAA Championships.