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02-14-24-fencing-practice-weining-ding

Sophomore sabre specialist Katherine Andres lunges during practice.

Credit: Weining Ding

“Just close your eyes. Imagine where you are. Think about how far you‘ve come as a fencer, and when you open them, you’re going to realize you’re in the finals," coach Peyman Fakhri said.

When College sophomore Katherine Andres traveled to Paraguay to represent the U.S. in the Pan American Games earlier this year in February, she kept her coach's words in the back of her mind, to find herself not only making the finals — but winning gold. 

“Her opponent in the final was very good and a top fencer,” Fakhri said on the intensity of the final bout. “The match was tough.” 

The competition is separated into two sections: Cadet (under 17) and Junior (under 20), where each country sends four of the top athletes per weapon to compete against each other. To win gold, Andres had to beat several top fencers, including Olympians. 

“Right as I scored, I ripped off my mask. I screamed. I was just in awe,” Andres said. “It was surreal, probably one of the highlights of my fencing career, for sure.”

Andres represented the US for sabre in the Junior section, a very big honor. She also won a silver in the team event for sabre with her sister. 

At 10 years old, Andres started her fencing journey at a club right near her house, introduced to the sport by her aunt. After picking up a sabre, she instantly fell in love with the fast-paced style of the weapon and the strategy involved to win, training around the clock to win competitions. 

“It was obvious she was a talented girl and that she had many ambitions," Fakhri said, referring to when he met her initially, two-and-a-half years ago. 

In the world of collegiate fencing, Andres has flourished within the community she found at Penn. She describes the group dynamic as supportive, with everyone pushing each other to become better and cheering for each other during meets. One of the highlights of fencing at Penn in particular was the team being crowned Ivy Champions in 2024, after 20 years. 

“I immediately fell to the floor. It was a crazy rush of emotion, and at that very moment, we felt all our hard work and blood and sweat and tears really pay off," Andres said. “It’s something you can’t get outside of athletics, just that rush of adrenaline.”

Being a student-athlete means waking up at 6 a.m. twice a week to lift and three hours of fencing practice Monday to Friday, all while managing a pre-med course load. Apart from fencing, Andres finds time to do research work in a lab at Penn. On top of this, Andres travels to competitions both within the US and internationally. Flying to places like Budapest, Tunisia, and South Korea often means missing classes for significant periods of time.

“These are all opportunities I would not give up for the world, but you have to consider all the travel time. You have to miss four or five days of school at a time,” Andres said.

While learning to adapt to the changes that come with coming to college was a lot during freshman year, after a year of experience under her belt, Andres has become experienced with juggling classes, fencing, and competitions. She recognizes the sacrifices that come with performing at such a high level — the downside of traveling so much is missing out on time at Penn with friends. 

“If you want to be excellent and go that extra mile and accomplish everything that I wanted to in my career, you have to sacrifice quite a bit to be where you are, and that’s just something you have to overcome," Andres said.

Reflecting on what has made her fencing career so successful, Andres credits most of her accolades to a sense of resilience and culture of hard work that she has built up through the course of her life.

“There’s always been a fire, like a voice inside my head telling me, you can do this," Andres said. "You are meant to take on whatever you put your mind to.”

Dedication, relentless focus, and a lot of frequent flyer miles — Andres has proven that true success requires resilience and sacrifice.