Last weekend, Blue Devil fencers had to switch gear. Instead of competing as a team against other schools, several fencers traveled to Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey to compete in the NCAA Regionals for individual honors and the chance to advance to the national competition.
Freshman epée Elliott Chorn, sophomore foil David Bright and freshman saber Andrew Mahen secured their invitations to the NCAA nationals held over spring break at Brandeis in Waltham, Mass.
In total, four men and four women from Duke made the trip to compete in the Regionals. The eight Blue Devils earned invitations because of their strong performances throughout the season.
Mahen placed higher than all other Blue Devils, finishing in third place in epée. He was even involved in a three-way tie for the lead at one point in the competition. He'll be joined at the nationals by Bright, who finished in ninth at saber, and Chorn, who finished in 10th place in epée.
Mahen's success was all the more impressive because this is his first year competing at the collegiate level.
"He's still a freshman-we don't want him to get too cocky," said freshman epée Kristina Schafer, who also attended the competition.
Despite finishing strong, Mahen began the competition on a slow note when all that was required to advance to the next level of competition was a minimally strong performance.
His performance improved dramatically in the second round of fencing and continued all the way through the final bouts in which he was required to fence the two competitors with whom he had been previously tied for first place.
"The first round I did terribly," Mahen said. "The second round I sort of figured out which end of the weapon to hold."
Because individual competitions such as the NCAA Regionals require the fencers to compete in as many as twice the number of bouts as a typical team competition, having strong endurance becomes paramount. In this regard, Mahen said that the area he needed the most improvement in was sleep.
Senior foil Bob Manchen may also have the opportunity to fence in the national tournament. He received one of eight at-large bids, two of which will be selected to advance to the national competition.
Finishing top among the women contestants was freshman foil Nyasha London, who finished in ninth among a pool of over 30 fencers. Senior captain Katherine Nichols finished 19th in the epée competition.
"[London] did unbelievably well. She fenced very strong," Schafer said. "It was a really long day. It is incredibly exhausting but she had incredible endurance. She exceeded all expectations."
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