Michigan Fencing top club in conference
Michigan's fencing club was the highest-placing overall club team at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships today at Notre Dame. They finished 5th overall (men 4th, women 6th) out of 20 teams, but everyone above them in the final standings has at least one part of the squad as varsity (e.g., Northwestern women). They also had the best club performance on two weapons (mens foil, womens foil). Props to the fencers and best of luck at club nationals.
More info here: http://www.und.com/sports/c-fenc/spec-rel/2010-midwest-conference-champ…
I actually attended for a couple of hours this afternoon (my kids have just started at a local club, and one of the coaches is also a coach at ND), and it was pretty cool, although I know very little about the sport. The mens sabre final between OSU and ND was just a blur, although it was nice to see the OSU team being complete douchebags - living up to expectations. My kids' coach also lamented Michigan's lack of varsity fencing - he thinks Michigan has everything it needs to be a successful varsity team (good academics, good kids, and money).
So much for the state turning greener! Suck on my epee, Dantonio! Asshole!
"My kids' coach also lamented Michigan's lack of varsity fencing - he thinks Michigan has everything it needs to be a successful varsity team (good academics, good kids, and money)."
The problem with Michigan is that no one carries rapiers around. It's either machetes or guns...damn kids. GET OFF MY LAWN!
I couldn't make it to MFC's this weekend, but I heard the team did phenomenally. I fenced with the club for four years and captained the men's foil team for the last two.
I'm glad to hear that they're keeping up the tradition of club team dominance and at least challenging some of the varsity teams.
And while it would be nice to have a varsity fencing team, I think that transitioning to varsity would ruin alot of the fun and character of the team. Part of the attraction is the ability to let anyone and everyone have a chance to fence. I have friends that have fenced with various varsity teams (Northwestern women and UDM specifically), and Varsity means recruiting, cuts and mandatory practice. Fencing works so well because it's easy to balance the casual and hardcore needs when you're a club team. So while the talent and dedication might be there, the advantages of being a club team are hard to abandon.