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Sal Bertucci, left, the A&M Fencing Club treasurer, warms up with teammate Jacob Hill for a foil match during a Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournament.

Fencing club takes Aggieland by storm

By: Esther Sutton

Posted: 7/24/07

Two fencers step into the ring and salute each other. The swordplay begins, and one fencer takes hit after hit, while the other remains completely unharmed.

As the battle comes to a close, the winner heroically salutes the referee, while the other's eyes tear up. She complains to her coach asking: "Why can't I beat her?" The winner was Kendra Brunson, the president of the Texas A&M Fencing Club, and she had defeated a University of Texas Longhorn - the old fashioned way.

"It was ridiculous," said Brunson, a senior English major.

Battles like this happen at each of the six or more tournaments that the fencing club competes in each year. The club has 25 members, and Brunson said they are loyal and work hard to bring the sport to A&M and other places around the country.

"We went to Indiana this last semester for nationals, and Patrick Moore, the old president, got second place on an 'epee', which is really good. Our women's sabre team got ninth place out of 25," Brunson said.

The team travels a lot, but they hope to bring the art of fencing to A&M in September.

"We have an upcoming SWIFA, where a bunch of schools in our division come and fence, and it's going to be in College Station," Brunson said. "Anyone is welcome to come and watch."

The club holds a "Heavy Metal" fencing match each November, and it is the dominant tournament for the club. Brunson said the turnout for this event is usually good because the Southwest division will set dates so that no other fencing clubs will hold tournaments on the same day. This ensures maximum attendance at the matches.

The Fencing Club does not practice in the summer, but there are public clubs available to all fans of the sport, Brunson said. She goes to Houston once a week to practice at a fencing club during the summer.

During the school year, the club practices for three hours every weekday, and Brunson said the practices are open to anyone who is interested in the sport. If a visitor wants to participate, all of the equipment is provided for their use if they sign a release form.

Club membership is $100, - half is used to put the players in the United States Fencing Association (USFA).

"That way you can already have a one-up on everybody else," Brunson said. "You can fence in other tournaments and better yourself if you want to pursue higher rankings. It's a team event, but at the same time you're individually fighting for yourself."

Patrick Moore was the Fencing Club president for three years and has been fencing for nine years. He said he originally started fencing because he was home schooled and wanted to become involved in a group of people - and for a girl.

"I was home schooled, and I didn't have any friends. And I've got a thing for redheads," said the senior computer engineering major.

Moore has competed in several tournaments at A&M and in several other states, including Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina. He placed second in one of the tournaments.

"My team got third place. I missed first place by one point," Moore said. "I think about it every day."

He said there are occasional scrapes and bruises, but he has never been seriously injured, and he thinks fencing is great because there are not any age requirements.

"You could go to a tournament and they could match a 15-year-old with a 70-year-old," Moore said. "And you learn a lot about yourself and who you are."

Club treasurer Sal Bertucci, who has been fencing since he was eight years old, agrees. He said he likes it because it is a competitive sport, but internal, sport. He said it doesn't matter how much physical training one does, because it is a mental game about technique and endurance as well.

"I truly do it just because it's fun, and it's about mind games and tricking the person out and thinking ahead," Bertucci said. "It really works your brain out as well as your body."