Congratulations to all members of the class of 2014! There will be optional meetings for those interested in joining the team this fall, where you can meet some of the Men’s and Women’s fencers and get information about our program. We will have a table set up on Rawlings Green outside of Appel Commons on August 23rd and 25th from 5PM - 7PM. We welcome all prospective fencers and encourage you to email Captain Mike Fotinatos (maf283@cornell.edu) with any questions.
On the weekend of 6/19-20, Mike Fotinatos, Zach Silversmith, and Ben Jaeger traveled to Brandeis University to compete in the 22nd annual USFA Pomme de Terre Competition. In the Saber open, Zach went undefeated in his pool, and finished 10th out of 55 after falling in a close bout 13-15 to the eventual 1st place winner. Ben placed 33rd in saber and also competed in the Epee E & under. Having only fenced epee a few times, he displayed a comedy of saber moves, winning four DE’s and finished 3rd out of 60. His bronze medal finish earned him an E2010.
This past weekend, Cornell saber fencer Zach Silversmith attended the North Atlantic Sectional Qualifiers to participate in this years Summer Nationals event. Fencing in both the Junior (U19) and Senior Events, Zach earned a 3rd place finish out of 41 and 40 fencers respectively, the latter earning him a USFA ranking of B2010.
The Cornell Men’s Fencing Club traveled to Swarthmore College in Philadelphia to compete against 41 other schools from around the country. Over the course of the first day, our three squads all fared well, all placing in the top 16 going into direct eliminations. Individually, Sophomore Mike Fotinatos in foil, Freshmen Ben Jaeger and Zach Silversmith in sabre, and Sophomore Bryan Mills in epee all qualified for the first round of individuals. Mike, Ben and Zach all advanced to the final round with strong performances in their respective pools.
The Big Red fencers traveled to Drew University to compete in the Championship tournament of the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association. Comprised of varsity and club programs, Cornell faced off against eleven other schools on the day.
While all three squads fought hard, the Big Red foil team dominated the competition, with a 29-3 record defeating eight squads with a flawless 3-0 score and three schools by a 2-1 margin. Their performance earned them a first place squad finish, Cornell’s first MACFA title in many years. Nick Heiner, Trevor Ertel, and Mike Fotinatos, A, B, and C strip respectively, each finished the team round 10-1 and were all promoted to the individual round.
Consisting of eight fencers, the individual round takes the top four A-strips, top three B-strips, and top C-strip and is then executed in direct elimination tableau format. Nick Heiner took home the individual foil gold, winning his bouts decisively by scores of 15-5, 15-3, and 15-8. Mike Fotinatos earned bronze, edging out the first seeded Jose Samora 15-13, then falling to NJIT’s Max McDermott 15-11. Trevor Ertel, placing 7th, fell to McDermott in the first round 15-9.
The other squads showed outstanding effort, but fell short of the podium, with saber placing 8th and epee finishing 10th. Solid performances came from epeeists Dave Smith and Bryan Mills, and saber fencers Ben Jaeger and Zach Silversmith. Overall, the team finished around 6th place.
The Cornell Men’s Team competed at the Penn State Garret Open this weekend. The only club team registered at the event, they fenced against many elite varsity teams, such as Penn State, Ohio State, Princeton, Yale, Notre Dame, Harvard, Drew and UNC Chapel Hill.
Final Results:
|
Men’s Foil (50 Competitors)
|
Men’s Epee (58 Competitors)
|
Men’s Saber (42 Competitors)
|
|
Mike Fotinatos – 21st
|
Tim Gao – 43rd
|
Ben Jaeger – 23rd
|
|
Nick Heiner – 31st
|
Bryan Mills – 55th
|
|
|
Alex Lo – 47th
|
Wen Xuan Lim – 56th
|
|
This weekend the Cornell Men’s Fencing Club traveled to Madison, NJ to the first MACFA meet of 2009. After a long day, the Red emerged victorious with a 4-2 record against the MACFA B division. Cornell defeated Drew University, Lafayette College, University of Maryland, and Saint John’s College.
Two members of the Cornell Men’s Fencing team saw success this past weekend at a USFA tournament at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Both Mike Fotinatos '12 and Ben Jaeger '13 showed flawless performances in their respective weapons, while Fotinatos also placed 7th in saber.
On November 1, 2o09 the Cornell Men’s Fencing Club competed at Temple University in the annual Temple Open, widely considered the largest collegiate fencing competetition in the country.
The Big Red had great finishes all around. Nick Heiner, sophomore foilist, broke the top ten with a tenth place finish out of 101 competitors. Freshmen Ben Jaeger and Zach Silversmith had good results in sabre with 18th and 24th place finishes respectively (out of 82). Sophomore Mike Fotinatos and Freshman Dave Smith each tied for 22nd in foil and epee.
Congratulations to all members of the Cornell Class of 2013. To all prospective fencers, we look forward to another great season. Whatever your level of ability or experience, we welcome all fencers and athletes to practice with us. There will be optional meetings for anyone interested in participating on August 24th and August 26th on Rawlings Green (times are still tentative).
