Fencing team impresses top competitors at Notre Dame

This past weekend, members of Lawrence’s fencing team traveled to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana to compete against six other teams: Air Force, Cleveland State, Detroit, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Wayne State.

Fencing includes three different types of swords in competition: saber, foil, and épée. Members of the team specialize in one of these three in competition.

Considering the size of Lawrence University in comparison to its competitors, the Vikings had a very impressive weekend. Here are the results from this Saturday’s competition:

The women’s team took on Northwestern to launch the weekend, but only managed to score two points in saber and zero in foil or epee, ultimately losing 25-2. Next they competed against Detroit, where Lawrence tallied 19 total points—eight in saber and foil, four in épée—while Detroit finished with only 10 points.

Lawrence later went on to crush Cleveland State 22-3, scoring more points as the events progressed. The rest of the matchups did not go so well for the women’s team, however. They fell to Air Force 21-6, Notre Dame 23-4, and finally 19-8 against Wayne State.

As for the men’s team, they competed in two close matches against Cleveland State and Wayne State. Lawrence scored seven points in saber to Cleveland’s two, and won five to four in epee. Unfortunately, Cleveland managed to score eight points in foil to Lawrence’s one, resulting in a 15-14 victory over the Vikings.

Against Wayne State, Lawrence dominated in saber, outscoring the Warriors eight points to one, and though Wayne State was able to win in foil and epee, it was not enough to surpass Lawrence, who came out with a narrow 14-13 victory.

Lawrence also defeated Detroit 20-7, but lost matches to Air Force (22-5), Northwestern (17-10) and Notre Dame (21-6).

The fencing team will next compete at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships this weekend, Mar. 2 and 3. If you see any member of the team, be sure to wish them good luck.