EN GARDE!

Basketball. Jogging. Sword fights. It wasn’t the most typical weekend at the Wildermuth Gymnasium.\nThe IU Fencing Club hosted the United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs’ national championships at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation this weekend. While most HPER occupants are decked in gym shorts and Under Armour, these patrons donned real armor – and sabers.\nAt the end of the tournament, which totaled nearly 600 participants, the College of William and Mary was crowned the men’s national champion, while Michigan emerged victorious in the women’s competition.\nHost IU had a strong showing, finishing sixth in the women’s tournament and seventh in the men’s, out of the field of 32.\n“Our whole team started off slow,” IU senior saberist Hasani Burton said. “Once we got going, though, I think we did well. We beat some good schools and held our own against better ones.”\nThe two-day tournament consisted of several mini-tournaments that determined the teams’ overall score. Both men’s and women’s squads had teams of three for each type sword – the epee, saber and foil. Saturday’s results were used to rank the teams for Sunday, when they squared off in an elimination format. The individuals who finished with the highest places recorded the most points for their team’s score.\nIn addition to team competition, there also were individual tournaments that didn’t count toward the team score but were used to determine the individual champions of each sword. IU freshman Mary Koser finished fifth in the individual saber competition.\n“That was exciting,” Koser said. “I’ve never placed that high before in any of the previous tournaments.”\nThough the club admits on its Web site that most members of the IU Fencing Club had little experience before arriving in Bloomington, Koser has been fencing since she was in high school in Kildeer, Ill. She said she was glad IU could host a tournament rather than making the club travel. \nIn addition to placing fifth, Koser helped lead a trio of IU fencers to a seventh-place finish in the saber competition – the highest place the women’s team recorded.\nIn the men’s tourney, sophomore Rick Gunyon and the other Hoosier epeeists were the highest-placing team, as well as the one that endured the most drama.\nAfter vanquishing Cornell and Florida, IU had a semifinals battle against the College of William and Mary that went down to the wire. In a “next point wins” situation, Gunyon was hit in the chest by a William and Mary epeeist, ending the Hoosiers’ hopes of claiming the epee title.\n“I thought I could’ve beaten those guys and still think if I had another opportunity I would.” Gunyon said. “The things I tried just didn’t work.”\nThe team then lost to Texas A&M in the third-place bout, giving them a fourth-place finish. Senior epeeist Robert Gradeless, who also finished 12th in the individual epee tournament, was pleased with his team’s effort this weekend.\n“We obviously would have liked to have done better, but in the semifinals we met some really tough teams.” Gradeless said. “Rick (Gunyon) especially had a great day. Mary Koser took fifth individually as a freshman, which was great. Overall, we did well.”