Ivy League Champions. Intercollegiate Fencing Association Overall Champions. The only prize left for the Bulldog fencers is to win it all, the NCAA crown, at the tournament that will be held in under two weeks at the Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Though an NCAA title is beyond anyone's realistic expectations, one cannot help but wonder where the Bulldogs' season of success will lead them next.
The fencing squad entered this past weekend's Intercollegiate Fencing Tournament at M.I.T. on the heels of having clinched both the men's and women's Ivy League title. While the Bulldogs were reveling in the sweep of both league championships for the first time in Yale history, the challenge remained to keep their focus, knowing that the best competition in the East would be armed and ready for them at the tournament.
Both teams responded to the challenge. The men's squad finished third overall, while the women took second en route to giving Yale the combined championships, edging out Harvard. Highlights on the men's side included finishing ahead of Columbia who had beaten them previously in the season. For the women, the undefeated performance of Alison Calabia, TD '98, who won the women's foil competition outright, was especially noteworthy.
"I was surprised that we did so well," head coach Henry Harutunian said. "I knew we had the potential to do quite well, and it was nice to see everything come together for us to win this championship."
Harutunian attributed his team's success to its hard work and cohesiveness. He remarked, "While other teams are stronger, we are a unit. We really have stuck together, despite the number of injuries and other problems that we have had. Everyone has worked hard to improve."
The men's foil team was led to a fifth place finish at the IFAs by the fourth place performance of David Weeks, DC '97, and the tenth place finish of Daniel Green, DC '97, while the épee squad earned sixth place, anchored by captain George Raine's, JE '96, fourth place and Alex Reid's, JE '99, eleventh place finishes. The sabre squad came in second overall with three fencers in the top ten of the competition. The efforts of Taka Sudo, PC '97 (4th), Steve Goodman, PC '96 (5th), and David Webster, BK '96 (10th) catapulted the Bulldogs to their strong finish.
Weeks noted that "the team as a whole was satisfied with where it finished." While he warned against the complacency that often comes with success, Weeks did express that "The team has a lot to be proud of, coming together and doing so well."
On the women's side, Alison Calabia's first place finish in the foil division coupled with strong performances by Cherie Chen, MC '97, and Katie Zuckerman, JE '99, who both cracked the top ten, enabled the Elis to capture the foil crown.
Calabia took satisfaction in both her own and the team's accomplishments. "I'd been a little shaken up by the Harvard match, and so all week I was focused on getting back my mental toughness," she said.
It was this focus, combined with confidence gained from the team events, that helped Calabia remain undefeated in this tournament. "The whole team gained a feeling of confidence from the team competition, and it really carried me through the individual competition. I was exhausted, the team was exhausted, but winning was a satisfying way to end hard work," she said.
The women's épee squad finished third overall in the IFA competition, led by a strong second place finish by captain Angela Rodel, SM '96. Anne Estabrooks, DC '98, came in twelfth in this division for the Elis to aid them in their third place finish.
The Elis hope that these individuals will continue to build on their success from the regular season and the IFA's at the NCAA qualifying tournament, which will be held this weekend at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. Only 24 fencers qualify at each weapon, and with the top national competition present, Yale fencers have their work cut out for them.
Coach Harutunian, on his team's chances this year, noted that last year, "Yale had the maximum number of qualifiers, but this year we will have to wait and see how we perform. It would be nice to match the 10 qualifiers of last year, and I'm hoping we can achieve that goal."
Harutunian said the key to success for the Bulldogs will be to maintain the work ethic that the team has displayed thus far and to continue to work together, not as individuals, but as a team. Focus, he said, is also key.
Alex Reid, an épee fencer, echoed these sentiments of Harutunian when he commented that the success that the Bulldogs have achieved this year reflects "what a strong sense of team we have. The past few years, we have had some real superstars, but we never won the Ivy title. This year has been a special effort."
In fact, both the men's and women's teams have had to overcome great adversity to achieve their surprising success this year. For the men, the loss of Peter Devine, MC '98, to training for the Olympic Games and both David Ensign, BK '97, and John Sykes, TC '98, to injury has forced Harutunian to rely on the performance of many young, inexperienced fencers for the team's continued success.
Similarly, the women's squad had to battle injuries to key members on its way to an undefeated Ivy League record.
With the NCAA championships on the horizon, there is no reason to suspect that the Bulldogs will not continue their winning ways.
Given both their desire and their proven aptitude for success, the old cliché that "anything can happen" seems truly applicable for this team in this tournament.
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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