University of Virginia Library

To Hopkins, Baltimore

Fencers Drop Opener

On a losing note Virginia's
Fencing Club opened its season
against teams from Johns Hopkins
University and the Baltimore
Fencing Club. Last Saturday both
JHU and BFC defeated the Virginia
team by the close score of 15-12.
Both matches, which were held in
the Johns Hopkins gym, were
decided in the final five bouts; and
each could have gone either way.

The Cavalier swordsmen field
three individual weapon teams: foil,
the long dueling sword; epee, the
shorter dueling sword; and sabre,
the flashing, whip like weapon. Each
weapon team fences the other three
men on the opposing squad. Each
bout that a fencer wins gives his
team one point. The team score
consists of the composite win-loss
records of the foil, epee, and sabre
teams. Consequently it is conceivable
that two of the three weapon
teams win, but the entire fencing
team lose the match.

This is what happened against
Johns Hopkins. Both the foil and
sabre teams won their matches 5-4,
but the epee
team lost 7-2. Against
the Baltimore Fencing Club, which
mainly consists of former collegiate
fencers in the Baltimore area, the
foil team again won 5-4; but the
sabre team lost 6-3, and the epee
team lost 5-4.

Individually, Steve Hatten, the
captain of the foil team, had a 6-0
record. Bob Cohen, the number
two foil man won three of his six
bouts. Roy Nanovic, the sabre
captain, compiled a 5-1 record, and
Dave Sroski, the epee captain,
was the top epeeist with a 4-2
record.

These non-conference matches
were beneficial to the team because
they gave first-year men Tom
Channell, Gary Denlinger, Evan
Robinson, Bill Adams, and Jack
Cofer valuably bout experience.

The Fencing Club has been
practicing in Memorial Gym three
nights a week from seven till 9 since
October 1. Their coach, Dr.
Herman Wallner, is a former NCAA
foil and epee champion and
Olympic fencer.

The Southeastern Intercollegiate
Conference, which includes Duke,
UNC, N.C. State, VMI, The Citadel,
Clemson, and Virginia, opens its
season February 15. On that date
Virginia fences The Citadel and
Clemson. Anyone still interested
in fencing should contact Bob
Cohen at 295-2655.