Timothy Parker is currently a fourth-year on the Men’s Saber Squad at Lawrence. He hardly remembers a time when he wasn’t obsessed with sword fighting, recalling interest in the subject since he was about three years old. At 14, he started fencing at the club level, putting his interests “to good use rather than breaking plastic things against trees.” With only 37 NCAA collegiate men’s fencing teams in the United States, Parker was eager to accept a position on the Saber Squad at Lawrence and continue his fencing journey.
“I applied to Lawrence the end of March my senior year,” said Parker. “The rest is history.”
Parker’s career had a strong start, setting the win record for Men’s Saber his first year.
Fencing holds a rather unique position when compared to other collegiate sports at Lawrence. The season runs from October to March, and the team fences many bigger-name schools such as Notre Dame, Ohio State and Northwestern. This past season held a lot of success for Men’s Saber, sealing victory at the Central Collegiate Fencing Conference Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Fencing also has a Foil Squad and Epee Squad, each with different rules and regulations. Saber, in which one can only hit from the waist up, uses a cutting weapon that one can thrust with the edge or the blade’s back. Parker describes Saber as an athletic way of saying, “Look what we can do.”
Parker credits Coach Eric Momberg for much of the squad’s success, describing him as “world championship caliber,” as well as assistant strength and conditioning coach Diane Momberg. According to Parker, Momberg has created a much more personal, in-depth experience for recruits, attending many events in person and being very intentional throughout the recruiting process as a whole. Junior Aaron Reece, first-year Jordan Diacos and first-year Clarence Murzyn were a strong group of starters and also big contributors to the team’s success. Finally, Parker is grateful to “the most beautiful boy” sophomore Donovin Brown, as well as senior Ben Kelsey, who will be graduating in June. “I’m glad to see us getting [Kelsey] a ring before he leaves,” stated Parker.
Currently in the off season, Parker has continued to put in the work in the weight room at Buchanan-Kiewit Wellness Center as well as many optional practices with his squad. He’s looking forward to winning another ring in the next season and feels that the bright future of fencing at Lawrence is one of the many ways the school has displayed improvements as of late, particularly in the athletic department. Parker will be staying on for a fifth year at Lawrence.
“There’s a really good group of people on the team right now, and I’m not ready for my collegiate career to be over,” he said. “I have one more year of eligibility, so I figured why not use it?”
He hopes to see continued support from the student body and faculty during tournaments and believes this is an exciting time to be at Lawrence, with prospective wins and athletic enhancements on the horizon.