Five fencers set for Junior Olympics in San Jose

Although the regular season has been completed, the fencing season is a far cry from over. Now individual competitions begin to light up the fencing scene. Aside from team results, individual success plays a huge role in determining the quality of a fencer's season. Competitors vie for national rankings and recognition in the individual portion of the season. Five Quakers put their talents on the strip when they fly to San Jose to compete in this year's Junior Olympics, the most highly touted circuit on the juniors slate. This competition consists of 50 top national contestants in each weapon group who qualified individually in regional action. This circuit is the largest of the year and boasts nationally-ranked fencers ranging in age groups from under 11 years old to 19 all gathered together in a festive setting. Many of the fencers also have Olympic dreams, and this competition has the power to give national rankings a tremendous boost. Each age group is broken into small sections of fencers who compete in a round-robin format until the top 32 are selected. At this point, it becomes single elimination until the winner is crowned. Contenders from Penn include two women's epee fencers and three men's fencers, including two sabre and one epee. Sophomores Stephen Chun in sabre and Alex Edelman in epee will be two of the men's representatives in their final appearances at the Junior event. Freshman men's sabrer Sandy Agashiwala will also be competing in his third trip since he began fencing four years ago. After a relatively disappointing team season, all three are anxious to turn their individual fortunes around this weekend. "In the college season we can only fence a limited scope of competition because we just play certain teams. But here we can see how we're doing compared to all the best fencers in the country," said Agashiwala, who finished 13th at the competition last year among sabrers. "Everybody involved in junior fencing will be watching," said Edelman, who last year barely missed the finals and is a consistent finalist in regional events. The contenders from Penn's Ivy League champion women's team are freshman Anastasia Gunzburg, the Quakers' leading epee fencer, and Olivia Leon, who has over five years of epee experience. After being named Penn Female Athlete of the Week in January and finishing with a winning record in every match this season, Gunzburg hopes to continue the winning tradition she has built for herself. Freshman Olivia "Love Love" Leon also figures to be a strong contender in the tournament, as she was ranked in the top 50 nationally last year. Leon came to Penn after attending a summer camp led by Penn coach Dave Micahnik and has been extremely successful despite being a freshman. Being an Olympian is not her dream, however. She fences simply to stay in shape. "I took fencing in summer camp in eighth grade because I wasn't good at any other sport," Leon said. "Now I fence because I need a sport to keep me busy." It may seem a tremendous amount of pressure rests on these five men and women, but it is taken in stride. All emphasize that although they want to do well, they will also have fun over the weekend seeing old foes from their home clubs and enjoying the atmosphere. The Junior Olympics is an exceptional event. It combines fun, a nice trip and the possibility of personal glory together in one weekend. One fencer went as far as to describe the circuit as "one big party." "There are really several reasons I chose to go this year," Chun said. "To have a good time, see old friends, and of course, win medals."