Fencing starts season with solid performance

By ZACH JAFFE Staff Writer

Men’s fencing started off the season with a strong showing at the Temple Open. The Jays placed six fencers in the top 20 over the three events (Foil, Epee, Sabre). Leading the way for the Jays was sophomore Ian Maddox, who finished fifth out of 77 in the Foil. Maddox, who was very impressive as a freshman, started off the season strong, with an 11-1 record, only falling in elimination play. Maddox was the second highest Division III finisher in the weapon.

“What’s worked [so far] has been focusing on the next match and trying not to dwell on setbacks,” Said Maddox. Also shining for the Jays in the Foil was senior captain Glenn Balbus, who finished with a 9-1 record, falling in the round of 16.

“Keeping my mental intensity high while maintaining clarity and calm is essential [for me],” said Balbus, “[It is] something that I am consistently working on improving.”

In the Epee, sophomore Denis Routkevitch shined with a 14th-place finish. He went 8-3 and finished 14th out of a pool of 80 fencers. Sophomores Milan Patel and Max White also had solid performances, finishing 26th and 38th, respectively. Freshman William Snyder, competing in his first collegiate event, finished 44th.

In the Sabre, junior Daniel Dembner led the Jays with a 22nd-place finish in a field of 55. Freshman Brian Huang finished right behind him in 23rd, followed by junior Patrick Rose in 24th. Sophomore Sandy Vingoe, the team leader in wins from a year ago, finished in 28th place. Sophomore David Austin rounded out the competition with a 30th place finish.

“We started the season well,” said captain Glenn Balbus, “[The team] works incredibly hard and has tremendous potential for improvement.” He added, “Temple was peculiar for Foil, because in the direct-elimination round, five out of seven of us met before the round of 16.”

“So far we’ve only had individual tournaments,” said Maddox, “I think we could benefit from team tournaments, as we function best with each other’s support.”

The women’s team was able to place two in the Top 10 over the three events. Leading the way were junior Nastasia Winey and freshman Celine Shanosky, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Epee. In a pool of 84 fencers, both Winey and Shanosky fell in the quarterfinals of the elimination bracket. They finished second and third amongst D-III fencers at the event. Junior Charlotte Green finished in 26th place after being eliminated by her classmate, Winey, in the round of 32.

“The Epee team had a really strong showing,” said Shanosky, “JHU was up there with a lot of Division I schools, which is really exciting.” She later added, “As an individual, I’ve been working a lot on my attack. I lost the lead at the beginning [of my quarterfinal match] and struggled to set up a strong attack to get it back.”

In the Foil, Freshman Lior Levy led the way with a 23rd-place finish (8-4), followed by classmate Rebecca Rosenthal in 24th (6-5) (out of 82 competitors). Senior captain Rachel Viqueira finished in 27th, sophomore Elizabeth Konopacki tied for 41st, freshman Kiera Wolfe finished in 53rd and sophomore Rachel Bang finished in a tie for 75th.

The women’s Sabre team had an impressive showing as well, placing three in the top-30 out of 75. Freshman Shiaomeng Tse led the Jays with a 24th-place finish, while freshman Maggie Vitale and senior captain Isabella So finished tied for 29th. Also competing in her first event was sophomore Stef Hernandez, who finished in a tie for 73rd. Both teams return to action on Nov. 21 at the Elite Invitational in Philadelphia.