COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The University of the Incarnate Word fencing team sent a contingent of five men and women to the Western Regional Individual Championships over the weekend at the Air Force Academy and came away with some excellent results.
In the women's epee, sophomore
Oksana Samorodova finished in third place behind Chantel Yang and Belinda Mo of Stanford University. Samorodova recorded a 10-2 record and was tied for second, but the tie-breaker rules dropped her to third place. Fellow sophomore
Monet Moreau finished in seventh place with five total victories.
The Cardinals also fared well in the men's epee where sophomore
Alexander Sless nabbed third place honors behind Sean Strong of Stanford and Cameron Sullivan of Air Force. Sless finished the meet with an 11-5 record. UIW freshman
Esteban Sanchez went 10-6 and finished in a tie for fourth place with three others, but dropped to sixth due to the tie-breaker rules.
The final participant for the Cardinals was
William Triebes in the men's saber. Despite less than six months experience in fencing, he earned a pair of victories to finish in 12
th place.
UIW head coach
John Moreau stated he was extremely proud of the dedication and effort put forth by the whole team, not just by the fencers who qualified for the regional competition. "Without the other fencers on the team we would not have been able to compete at Regionals," said Moreau. They should be just as proud of their accomplishments this year as the ones who qualified. This is where the "TEAM" in fencing is displayed."
Moreau also gave credit to UIW administration. "The vision of the school to start a program in a sport that hasn't seen a startup Division I fencing program in over fifty years and have that program be successful in its first year is a testament to their commitment to excellence. I am truly blessed to be a part of this University."
The Cardinals have a chance to send fencers to the NCAA Collegiate Fencing Championships since fencing is not a sport divided into divisions. The selections for the championships will be announced on March 15 by the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee.
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