Air Force Academy
Division I Junior
Women's Epee and Foil NAC Results
1/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
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Jan. 20, 2004
Air Force had four women compete last weekend in the NACs Junior competition in San Jose. The four fencers did not finish as well as head coach Abdel Salem had expected. In the junior women's epee event, sophomore Kate Strickland finished 67th, while Lydia Bigelow, a freshman, finished 77th out of 78 women. Natalie Chounet, a sophomore, tied for 90th in junior women's foil and freshman Monica Herrera finished 93rd out of 97 women.
"It was unfortunate that our four fencers only made it to the first round. It is very hard for me to see that, even though I know none of them fenced before enrolling at the Air Force Academy. Despite the fact that it was the first national event and maybe the second or third competition at all, it was still difficult. I have no doubt that at least one of them, if not all, will be a solid fencer for next season or the following season since they are freshman and sophomores," Salem said.
"We tried to get them to feel the pressure and the intensity of a national level fencing competition and we want them to set their goals high. We want them to understand and believe that there is a lot of work for us to do. We ultimately want to catch up."
The team will have to weeks to train for the upcoming dual at Notre Dame, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The competition will be held at Joyce Center Field House. Air Force will compete against UC San Diego, Notre Dame, Cal State Fullerton, Cleveland State, Detroit, Duke, Lawrence, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wayne State.
