Regarded by the United States Fencing Coaches and the NCAA as one of the best teams in the country for both men and women according to national polls, the fencing team is feeling pressure to live up to its reputation for the rest of the 2004-2005 season.
Bruno walked away with five medals at the 2003 "Big One" opener and finished ninth overall at the 2003-2004 ECAC Championships. The Bears also sent several All-Americans to the NCAA Fencing Championships. There, Brown epeeist Ruth Schneider '06 earned her All-American status by finishing fifth overall. Despite being a freshman at the time, fellow teammate and All-American Jeremy Zeitlin '07 also qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished with a noteworthy 24th-place performance.
The question is whether the team can once again fence its way to victory for the second half of the 2004-2005 season. According to several fencers, it won't be a problem for the Bears.
"Compared to last year, we have a stronger set of people. Individual skills have definitely increased. We have been fencing better against MIT and Brandeis than we have in the past," said Shauna Edson '05.
Despite the loss of several fencers to graduation, the team is optimistic. With three tournaments under their belt, the new recruits and walk-ons now offer a new dimension to the team.
"We definitely got some good freshmen," said saberist Jeremy Adler '05. "I know Sam (Levine '08) is quite a good fencer. And Mike (Malecz '07), he's just a beginner, but he's been picking up very quickly. I've been really impressed with the freshman class we've gotten. I think Ivan Goodman ('08) is another one on foil. I'm happy with that. I think we've had more depth this year than we did last year."
"Each year we have more and more recruits, so we've had a stronger set of people," Edson said. "We also have walk-ons that surprise us and pick it up so quickly. Two of our tri-captains, Nannette Milner ('06) and John Wurzel ('05), never fenced before they came to Brown."
"We're looking forward to working on our endurance and staying true, staying in our game, staying strong and not getting too tired through these long days. We are definitely ... geared for New England Championships and the ECAC," Edson said.
The Bears' last regular season meet is Sunday at MIT.
