Led by several strong individual performances, the men's and women's fencing teams finished their regular season Saturday with a combined seventh-place finish out of the 12 teams competing at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championships.
David Pagliaccio '10 finished fourth in the men's epee event to secure the Bears' best individual result of the day, and tri-captain Jennifer Hausmann '07 was named co-winner of the Georges L. Cointe Award for sportsmanship and skill.
Head Coach Atilio Tass said the women's fifth-place finish was the Bears' best result ever at the IFA. The men's team came in at a respectable ninth place.
"The results speak for themselves," Tass said. "After doing so well in the IFA, it has been a very good season. It is one of the best that Brown has ever had."
Hausmann won the Cointe Award, named after a former Cornell coach, a year after teammate and current tri-captain Christine Livoti '08 was nominated for it. Candidates are nominated by their fellow fencers and then coaches elect the winner.
"It was really nice to win that award," Hausmann said. "I have always really liked that award personally at the IFAs. In the past I have been very close with the other fencers who have gotten this award. Last year my teammate Christine Livoti was nominated for it as well. So it means a lot for me to be awarded that."
Tass said he felt that Hausmann deserved the award. "That tells a lot about the character and principles of Brown fencers," he added.
Pagliaccio, an epee fencer, advanced out of his qualifying bracket to reach the 16-fencer epee finals. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Harvard's Teddy Sherrill, the eventual champion, and then fell in the third-place match.
"A highlight of the day was when David Pagliaccio made top four in the men's epee event," said tri-captain Dan Mahoney '07. "It was a very strong field, so that was just tremendous."
No other men made the final 16 in their respective weapons, but four women qualified. Randy Alevi '10 finished fifth with the saber, reaching the quarterfinals. Joining her in the round of 16 was fellow saber fencer Charlotte Gartenberg '08. Foilist Kirsten Lynch '10 and epeeist Livoti also qualified for the round of 16. The women's saber squad of Alevi, Gartenberg and Charlotte Rose '09, who narrowly missed qualifying for the field of 16, posted a fourth-place finish, the best result of the Bears' six squads.
"I am really happy with the way the team fenced and our final placement," Hausmann said. "I think it speaks to how much effort we've been putting into our practice and how well we've been fencing over the season."
The Bears now turn their attention to the NCAA Regionals, coming up on Sunday. For the second year in a row, Brown has qualified a full team of three fencers per weapon. Last year, several fencers came close to qualifying for Nationals, but only Ruth Schneider '06 made the cut. Tass said he hopes that more of his fencers will advance this year.
"This competition is going to be very, very tough," Tass said. "I am hoping to get out a number of people. I think we will have two or three women and about the same on the men's side. If we do that, it will be awesome."
Hausmann said she sees qualifying a full team for Regionals as a sign of progress. "That is something I'm very proud of," she said. "We usually send a large number of people to Regionals. It just really speaks to how strong our team is and how every year we are getting stronger members, improving the members we have and just really coming together as a solid fencing team."
Led by several strong individual performances, the men's and women's fencing teams finished their regular season Sunday with a combined seventh-place finish out of the 12 teams competing at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championships.
David Pagliaccio '10 finished fourth in the men's epee event to secure the Bears' best individual result of the day, and tri-captain Jennifer Hausmann '07 was named co-winner of the Georges L. Cointe Award for sportsmanship and skill.
Head Coach Atilio Tass said the women's fifth-place finish was the Bears' best result ever at the IFA. The men's team came in at a respectable ninth place.
"The results speak for themselves," Tass said. "After doing so well in the IFA, it has been a very good season. It is one of the best that Brown has ever had."
Hausmann won the Cointe Award, named after a former Cornell coach, a year after teammate and current tri-captain Christine Livoti '08 was nominated for it. Candidates are nominated by their fellow fencers and then coaches elect the winner.
"It was really nice to win that award," Hausmann said. "I have always really liked that award personally at the IFAs. In the past I have been very close with the other fencers who have gotten this award. Last year my teammate Christine Livoti was nominated for it as well. So it means a lot for me to be awarded that."
Tass said he felt that Hausmann deserved the award. "That tells a lot about the character and principles of Brown fencers," he added.
Pagliaccio, an epee fencer, advanced out of his qualifying bracket to reach the 16-fencer epee finals. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Harvard's Teddy Sherrill, the eventual champion, and then fell in the third-place match.
"A highlight of the day was when David Pagliaccio made top four in the men's epee event," said tri-captain Dan Mahoney '07. "It was a very strong field, so that was just tremendous."
No other men made the final 16 in their respective weapons, but four women qualified. Randy Alevi '10 finished fifth with the saber, reaching the quarterfinals. Joining her in the round of 16 was fellow saber fencer Charlotte Gartenberg '08. Foilist Kirsten Lynch '10 and epeeist Livoti also qualified for the round of 16. The women's saber squad of Alevi, Gartenberg and Charlotte Rose '09, who narrowly missed qualifying for the field of 16, posted a fourth-place finish, the best result of the Bears' six squads.
"I am really happy with the way the team fenced and our final placement," Hausmann said. "I think it speaks to how much effort we've been putting into our practice and how well we've been fencing over the season."
The Bears now turn their attention to the NCAA Regionals, coming up on Sunday. For the second year in a row, Brown has qualified a full team of three fencers per weapon. Last year, several fencers came close to qualifying for Nationals, but only Ruth Schneider '06 made the cut. Tass said he hopes that more of his fencers will advance this year.
"This competition is going to be very, very tough," Tass said. "I am hoping to get out a number of people. I think we will have two or three women and about the same on the men's side. If we do that, it will be awesome."
Hausmann said she sees qualifying a full team for Regionals as a sign of progress. "That is something I'm very proud of," she said. "We usually send a large number of people to Regionals. It just really speaks to how strong our team is and how every year we are getting stronger members, improving the members we have and just really coming together as a solid fencing team."
