University of Virginia Library

W & M Fencers Edge Cavaliers

The University of Virginia fencing team lost its first match of
the season to William and Mary last Saturday by the close score
of 14 to 13. The match, which was held in the Memorial Gym
wrestling room, was not decided until the final bout.

As this was a dual meet, only one fencing strip was used and
the competition was held in three rounds. Each round consisted
of three foil, three sabre, and
three epee bouts. Virginia led
after the first round 5 to 4.
However, William and Mary
took the lead 10 to 8 after the
second round. Virginia rallied
to tie the score at 11 all, and
then the teams each won two
of the next four bouts. This set
the stage for the final bout.

Fencers Begun Full Schedule Last Saturday Against W&M

Dave Seroskie, a third year Cavalier elitist, and Bill Tyler from
W&M battled to a 4 to 4 tie. Then on a disputed touch Tyler and
W&M won its first match ever against the Cavaliers.

The fencing team consist of three weapon teams: foil, epee,
and sabre. There are three men in each weapon, and they each
three bouts. The Virginia foil team, led by two time all
Southeastern Conference selection
Steve Hatten who won all three of
his bouts, won 5 to 4. The epee
team, led by Jack Cofer who also
won three of his bouts, won 5 to 4.
However the sabre team lost 6 to 3
despite Evan Robinson's two wins.
The sabre team has but two
returning fencers from last year and
thus used five new fencers to give
them experience. One of these new
fencers, Greg Powers, won his bout
and showed much promise for the
future.

The fencing team at Virginia is a
club sport and as such is at quite a
disadvantage as all the teams it
fences have varsity status. Virginia's
team gets much help from its two
coaches Dr. Herman Wallner and
David Gerrard. Wallner is a former
two time NCAA champion in foil
and epee at NYU, and Gerrard is a
former Lafayette College fencer.

The Cavalier's next match will
be against Johns Hopkins Dec. 13
at Baltimore. These two matches
are merely exhibitions however
because the conference meets do
not begin until February. Virginia is
a member of the Southeastern
Conference which includes Duke,
North Carolina, N. C. State, Clemson,
The Citadel, and VMI. Non
conference matches with Maryland,
Appalachian State, and The Baltimore
Fencing Club are being
arranged presently. Practices are
held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the
Memorial Gym Wrestling room
Monday through Thursday. Anyone
connected with the University
interested in fencing should contact
Captain Steve Hatten at 295-1932
anytime or come to one of the
practices.