JULIA TIERNAN/YH The women's team is a favorite to stab its way to a national championship.

Fencing faces sharp competition at upcoming IFAs

Most Yale students will spend the first weekend of spring break sleeping and catching up with friends. Others aren't so lucky. Yale's fencing teams will have little time to rest as they prepare to duel in this weekend's Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) championship. Besides competing, Yale will be hosting the meet from Sat., Mar. 4 to Sun., Mar. 5.

Both teams will look to avenge the losses that Princeton handed them last weekend, but they cannot afford to focus their energies entirely on any one team. A number of other competitive schools will attend the IFA championship, including a strong team from St. John's. "There is very strong competition in the Ivies and throughout the Northeast," Sarah Weeks, TC '00, said. "St. John's is expected to win the NCAA championship, and, of course, there is the big rivalry between us and Princeton."

"It was a letdown when we didn't win Ivies, but now we have a clean slate—a chance to redeem ourselves," said men's captain and 1998 NCAA foil champion Ayo Griffin, SM '00. "We are hoping to make a strong showing in the regional competition."

The IFA competition format is different from that of the dual meets of the regular season. Each team is allowed to send three fencers per weapon, but instead of a round-robin competition in which each player faces every other competitor (as would occur in a dual meet), they face only the opponent ranked in the same position. "Your strategy changes somewhat, although you still need to respect your opponent, focus on your game, and make them adjust to you," Weeks said. Sunday's competition will feature the individual duels.

"It will be very exciting to have the home court advantage," Griffin said. "We hope to fence consistently, and build up our confidence for [North-east Regionals]."

After IFAs, both teams will compete in the Northeast Regional competition on Sun., Mar. 12 at Vassar. Though the Yale fencers have already qualified for regionals, their performance at the Vassar tournament will determine whether they attend the NCAAs. The top eight fencers at Regionals will receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, although only two athletes from any school are permitted to compete.

"We often have all three of our fencers in each weapon qualify for the NCAA tournament," Weeks said. "Because only two can attend, we end up competing against our own teammates for the highest ranking."

Both teams have very strong foil and sabre teams, but the squad has become closer as a whole this year. "We all depend on each other, and even though we compete separately, there is strong support between the men and women," Weeks said.

The goals for both teams in the future are not clearly defined, but are nevertheless high. Griffin feels that the men can finish in the top five at the NCAA competition, and Weeks is sure that the women have a chance to win the foil and sabre NCAA competitions.

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