Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"March 8, 2002
Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"
March
8, 2002
By Col. Gary Tocchet
Army
Fencing Team
The Army men’s and women’s fencing teams competed in respective season-ending, fencing championships Saturday and Sunday. The men competed in the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Conference Championships at Johns Hopkins University and the women competed in the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Championships hosted by Temple University.
Cadets Take Gold and Bronze
Medals in Epee Fencing
Army’s men had their efforts highlighted by the first place individual finish
in epee fencing for senior team captain Matt Keane. Keane qualified for the
individual finals with an 11-2 bout record in the preliminary rounds and fenced
to an 8-1 bout record in the finals. In the process he became a crowd favorite
when he defeated the league-leading and previously unbeaten Matt Bouilabasis
from Johns Hopkins 5-4. Army finished fourth overall in a competitive field of
14 schools just missing third place by one bout victory.
In the championships, Cornell University placed third; William and Mary placed second; and Drew University took the overall team championship.
Keane was closely followed by the bronze medal achievement of junior Isaac Erbele who was also honored as First Team All-Conference based on his combined finish in the championships and his second place finish during the regular season competitions. In saber fencing, the squad of junior J.D. Galindo, sophomore Gary Jones and freshman Ken Elgort won the third place trophy and matching bronze medals. Elgort, as a rookie, went 10-3 for his bout record in his first collegiate championships.
Finally in foil fencing, freshman David Veney finished the day with an impressive 12-1 bout record in the preliminary pools. This helped Army clinch a fourth place finish in foil, but Veney missed a birth in the finals because of a tie with another fencer in his pool that was broken by indicators. Despite Army’s competitiveness, the team was chosen for the annual Good Sportsmanship Award for the third year in a row by the votes of fencers from the opposing teams.
Women’s Saber Takes Bronze
With three newcomers in the starting lineup, Army’s women still fought to an
impressive fourth place finish in the combined weapon category in a 15-school
field at Temple University. Army finished as the top "club" team
behind three varsity programs.
The combined winning records of senior team captain Laura Miller, junior Julianna Eum and sophomore Alexandra Cioffi gave Army’s women saber fencers bronze medals in the saber team competition. Cioffi fenced to a dominating 14-0 record in preliminary pools and fenced in the finals before she was defeated by the eventual tournament champion. Eum went the furthest in the individual finals competition and finished fourth. In all, Army qualified eight of its nine starting fencers for the individual finals -- a record for Army fencing.
The foil team placed sixth. Junior foil fencer Gennelle Lee led her foil squad with a fourth place finish in the individual finals. In epee fencing, the young but determined squad of sophomore Stephanie Whittle, freshman Jacqueline Desenna and freshman Lindsay Duquette finished fourth in the championships. During the day, Desenna surprised the crowd when she defeated a highly touted, third-seed fencer in her first bout of the finals.