The trophy isn’t anything special to look at. It’s just a big silver cup. The names engraved on it are a different story. The past champions listed on this piece of hardware include legendary Olympians and now a Duck. Oregon student Josh Conner defeated scores of rivals Sept. 24-25 in Seattle to take the title at the Leon Auriol Open, one of the most prestigious fencing competitions in the western United States. Two other members of the Oregon Fencing Club placed in the top 15, raising the possibility of more championships in the future.
The Leon Auriol Open holds a special place in the hearts of fencers from the Pacific Northwest. The tournament’s namesake is a French immigrant who gained notoriety coaching elite fencers in Washington, Oregon and Canada before he branched out, giving lessons to any willing learner in the region. He is credited with developing the sport in Seattle, Portland and beyond.
“All the fencers in the Northwest are linked to him,” Conner said.
At the Open, Oregon entered its first tournament of the year in the mixed epee division, which featured 67 participants, the largest field at the competition. Matches using the epee, French for sword, finish either at the end of three three-minute rounds or when one fencer reaches 15 “touches” or hits on the opponent. Touches can be scored anywhere on the body with the epee, as opposed to the foil and sabre, where points are recorded only on the chest.
Fencing tournaments are divided into two stages, pool play followed by a direct elimination bracket. Entrants are assigned a ranking based on their showing in previous tournaments, ranging from A to E, with unranked fencers thrown in. The pools are formed so that usually there is only one fencer of a particular rank in any given pool. They then face off in a round-robin format using shortened matches, in which the first person to five touches wins. The records from pool play are then used to give each fencer a seeding in the second stage of the tournament, a March Madness-style bracket.
The Ducks fared well in the round robin. Conner and fencer/coach Adam Lake placed first in their sections, while Joseph Leary earned a high seed with a second-place finish. Leary advanced to the round of 16 before being bounced by finalist Evan Ranes. Lake made it to the semifinals, where Ranes defeated his second Duck of the day. This set up a confrontation with Conner, who was coming off his best match to the tournament, where he dispatched a former member of the Canadian national team 15-8.
“I guess it was just my day and not his,” Conner said.
The championship bout was tight right down to the wire. Late in the match, Conner and Ranes found themselves in a deadlock at 12-12. In an impressive flurry, Conner registered the next three points to take the win and the tournament, 15-12.
“It feels like by winning, I’m paying homage to those who brought fencing here,” Conner said.
Lake finished in third place and Leary rounded out the top 15 of the final standings. With such a strong showing, it is clear that the Oregon Fencing Club has come a long way since Lake took over the club about three and a half years ago.
“(The Club) was a place to fence where I could teach a little bit,” Lake said.
The Club travels to about 15 tournaments in a year, in addition to regular practices. Conner and Lake also take lessons in Portland and spent part of last summer at a fencing camp in Hungary. In addition, Lake offers students a chance to learn the sport each year with a beginners fencing class. Conner is glad he overcame his initial reluctance to become involved in fencing and grasped the distinctive challenges that fencing presents.
“Every opponent gives you a different dilemma,” Conner said.
Because the trophy from the Leon Auriol Open rotates from champion to champion, Conner and the team have a year to reflect on their accomplishment. When the trophy is returned, Conner’s name will be engraved alongside past winners, including fellow Oregonian and Olympian Cody Mattern.
“There are all these Olympians and then me,” Conner said. “It’s nice to be in that company.”
Fencer fights to tourney championship
Daily Emerald
October 26, 2005
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