Categories
MACFA

MACFA Champs Recap

This March, our men’s squads drove to Drew University for MACFA Champs, the final tournament of the MACFA season!

Épée

Men’s epee sent an experienced roster of Pulak Raj , Ben Coleman, and Greg Quigg into MACFA Champs, ready to take on every opponent the trio faced in MACFA this year. Greg used his well-timed remises to take his opponents by surprise and racked up many upset victories. Ben had a rough start to the day but was able to come back later in the day and pick his opponents wrists to pick up key victories. Pulak used his bladework to hold back his opponents and also continued to the individual round. Men’s epee beat many varsity fencers and is ready to dominate at SIFA.

Foil:

Men’s Foil fenced well at MACFA Champs. Matthew won multiple bouts, beating notable schools such as Army, Maryland and Yeshiva. Faisal and Ben also won bouts against multiple schools, including some intense 4 to 4 scoreline matches. Although none of men’s foil placed into the direct elimination round, they all placed well within their respective positions.

Sabre:

Daniel Bachman ’20, Robert Catlett ’18, and StevenPressendo ’20 approached their hardest competition of the year with focus and determination.  Daniel opened the day on an incredible note, winning early bouts against Stevens Institute of Technology, Rutgers, Hunter College, Yeshiva, Maryland, and TCNJ, all before the lunch break.  His sneaky reprises and aggressive beats established early leads that his opponents couldn’t overcome.  Robert’s constant energy kept his teammates positive throughout the day.  Additionally, his patient marches upset several varsity opponents from Lafayette, Hunter, and Yeshiva.  Despite having a rough day, Steven’s active bladework still bested the Drew A strip in front of a large home crowd- Steven’s 6th victory over Drew fencers this season.

Thanks again to those who came to cheer us on last weekend!

 

Our next event will be the Conomikes-Gutenberg Open (March 16-17) at William & Mary. Our next collegiate tournament will be the VA Cup right here at W&M (Sunday March 23-24).  Our full schedule is posted on our website: https://fencing.pages.wm.edu/schedule/

 

Past recaps can also be found on our website: https://fencing.pages.wm.edu/news/

 

Feel free to join our Alumni Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/266119290117623/

Categories
MACFA

MACFA BvC Recap

This February, our men’s squads drove to the New Jersery Institute of Technology for MACFA BvC, the second tournament of the spring semester!

Épée

Men’s epee went into MACFA BvC sporting the same roster as last week and had another impressive showing. Pulak Raj ’20, Ben Coleman ’19, and Greg Quigg ’21 picked up many big wins, fighting for a high seed at MACFA Champs, including a very closely contested 5-4 victory over Army. Ben didn’t make any of his bouts easy for his opponents, punishing fencers that walk too close into his distance. Pulak and Greg both scored key victories against varsity schools and learned a lot about their opponents through their bouts. Men’s epee looks forward to using what they’ve learned at MACFA Champs and will be practicing in preparation for their strongest competition yet.

Foil:

Men’s foil fought formidable competition during the MACFA BvC tournament. Representing the squad were Matthew Dreher ’19, Ben Witman ’20, and Stuart Thomas ’21. The trio faced varsity and club fencers from five different schools, scoring a win against one. It was in this round against Yeshiva University that all three foilists won their first bouts against varisty fencers, with Ben coming back from a 0-4 deficit and Stuart winning 5-0. Men’s foil also won two bouts against both Army and Hunter College. The squad looks forward to competing in their next tournament, the MACFA Championsip.

Saber:

Daniel Bachman ’20, Robert Catlett ’18, Steven Pressendo ’20 finished the MACFA regular season with their strongest results to date.  Daniel improved throughout the day, culminating in a dominant performance against Army.  His aggressive bladework overwhelmed his opponents, and his surprise flunge helped Daniel complete his clean sweep over West Point.  Robert showcased his adaptability by winning bouts in a variety of styles.  His speedy box footwork carried him to comfortable wins over varsity programs like Hunter College and Yeshiva.  Against strong competition from Steven’s IT, Robert’s signature patient offense helped him post one of his best records of the season.  Steven had an incredibly successful day, posting winning records against all schools except the regular season champions- NJIT.  Even though he couldn’t replicate his undefeated record against NJIT, he did still score a win over the reigning individual saber champion.  The saber squad hopes to build on this weekend’s success as they get ready for the upcoming MACFA Championship!

Thanks again to our alumni, current fencers, and families who came to cheer us on!

Individual Varsity Victories:

  • MS: Steven Pressendo, Robert Catlett, Daniel Bachman
  • MF: Ben Witman (first), Stuart Thomas (first), Matt Dreher (first)
  • ME: Pulak Raj, Greg Quigg
Categories
MACFA

MACFA AvC Recap

Last weekend, our team drove to Drew University for MACFA AvC, the first tournament of the spring semester!

Épée:

MACFA AvC was an exciting tournament that pushed the limits of every men’s epee fencer. It was a day of unpredictable bouts for Greg Quigg ’21, coming back from two 4-2 deficits to win, picking up his first varsity victory.  Ben Coleman ’19 scored many points with his patented wrist picks and picked his opponents apart with patient feints and disengages.  Pulak Raj ’20 crushed his opponents with his strong parry-ripostes with many key victories over varsity fencers.  Overall, men’s epee learned a lot from MACFA AvC and is ready to practice and improve for their next competition.

William & Mary boasted two veteran women’s epeeists, Charlotte Engel ’19 and Nikki Petzer ’19 at MACFA AvC this past weekend. Resident saberist, Madeline Myers ’20 joined the squad, adapting her saber skills to excel in épée for the event.  Women’s épée made an impressive appearance, earning victories against four out of the five schools they fenced.  Notably, our squad soundly beat Drew’s and CCNY’s varsity teams with a score of 6-3 and 7-2, respectively.  Using her crafty blade work and keen ability to gauge distance, Charlotte decisively won bouts against three varsity fencers.  Likewise, Madeline made a dominating epee debut, utilizing her aggression and remarkable agility to beat three varsity fencers as well.  Nikki came away with six victories against varsity fencers, using her height and newfound aggression to fend off opponents and win bouts.

Foil:

Men’s foil had a good showing at the most recent MACFA qualifier.  Representing men’s foil were Matt Cusick ’20, Ben Witman ’20, and Faisal Al-Alami ’20.  All three fencers faced fierce competition, but won many bouts nonetheless.  A particularly notable moment came when Ben beat one of Cornell’s fencers.  This was exciting because Cornell’s fencers are highly trained and have a great deal of experience. Men’s foil also had good showings against the other schools, especially Drew and TCNJ.  Foil’s performance at this most recent MACFA is an indicator that we will be ready to stand up to the challenge of the MACFA Championship.

Last weekend, W&M women’s foil was represented by Elizabeth Sutterlin ’20, Julie Vu ’20, and Julianne Cook ’21. The girls had a tough first round against Navy, but Julie earned two clutch victories, setting a great note for the rest of the day.  W&M beat TCNJ, and Elizabeth and Julie went on to each earn victories against Drew’s fencers later that morning.  Julianne usually fences saber, but she proved just how much her foil game had improved when she earned her first varsity victory in foil against CCNY!  She then handily took down another Drew girl later in the day, when W&M had the chance to fence their non-starting squads. Elizabeth’s favorite bout of the day was her 5-2 victory against a Hopkins fencer.  While they won’t be competing at MACFA BvC or the championships, women’s foil is hungry for more competition, and will be eagerly training hard in preparation for Virginia Cup next month.

Saber:

Last weekend, Daniel Bachman ’19 and Steven Pressendo ’20 joined with foilist Matt Dreher ’19 to put on a strong performance at Drew.  Daniel’s trademark aggression carried him to victories up and down the strip.  He combined his aggressive starts with patient marches that overwhelmed opponents.  When his opponents futilely tried to counterattack, Daniel showcased his adaptability by sealing bouts with beautiful counter-ripostes.  Matt opened the tournament on a high note, with unconventional counterattacks that foiled the attacks of Lafayette’s top fencer.  His fencing improved drastically throughout the day, leading to respectable showings and even a victory in his first saber tournament.  Coming into the event, Steven had beaten fencers from every MACFA school except for Drew.  On Sunday, that changed.  He emerged with a 5-1 record against the host school, highlighted by a decisive win over Drew’s top fencer and a 5-0 score in the final bout of the day.

Women’s saber brought it to MACFA AvC!  Chrysanthi Stevens ’19 fenced smart.  Against aggressive women squads, her favorite move was to make her opponent fall short.  She maintained high spirits throughout the entire tournament and ended the day winning the last bout against a Drew fencer 5-4.  Riley Aiken ’20 was incredibly dynamic and aggressive.  Her fast attacks and parries caught her opponents off guard. The highlight of her day was winning a bout 5-4 against a varsity fencer from Johns Hopkins.  Mary McCants ’21 confidently read her opponents in every one of her bouts.  She scored some amazing counter attacks, feints, and pulls.  Moreover, she masterfully implemented her teammates advice.  Women’s saber preformed incredibly well, and more importantly, had a great time.

Thanks again to our alumni, current fencers, and families who came to cheer us on last weekend!

Victories against Varisty Fencers:

  • MS: Steven Pressendo, Daniel Bachman
  • MF: Matt Cusick, Faisal Alami
  • ME: Ben Coleman, Pulak Raj, Greg Quigg (first)
  • WS: Mary McCants, Riley Aiken (first), Chrysanthi Stevens
  • WF: Elizabeth Sutterlin, Julie Vu, Julianne Cook (first)
  • WE: Charlotte Engel (first), Madeline Myers, Nikki Petzer