Senior foilist Bryce Louie celebrates at Day 1 of the NCAA fencing championships. (Photo Courtesy of Ivy League)
Senior foilists Bryce Louie and Sabrina Cho ended their collegiate careers with a fighting performance in the NCAA Fencing Championships at Penn State this past weekend. Both men’s and women’s fencing placed 8th, and Notre Dame took the championship title this year.
Louie had an overall score of 16-7, and earned his second-straight All-American honor to close out his chapter at Penn. He was also named Second Team All-America, along with teammate and freshman sabreur Antonio Heathcock. Heathcock won 7 bouts and finished 7th in sabers with an overall record of 14-8, an impressive performance for his first year with the Quakers. Junior sabreur Simon Kushkov won Honorable Mention All-America, and, for the second time, was selected All-American. Twelfth in the saber field, Kushkov won 4 bouts and ended the tournament with an 11-11 overall record.
There were some lingering regrets for the men’s team, but both Heathcock and Kushkov are excited to rest and prepare for next season, where they hope to perform better.
“There were a lot of close losses in the first day," Heathcock said.
“Didn't feel fully at my best physical conditioning, which … bummed me out," Kushkov said in reference to recovering from illness.
For the women's team, who competed the following two days on Saturday and Sunday, Penn sent four fencers. Sophomore epeeist Victoria Kuznetsov scored a 11-23 record, and placed 13th. In foil, seniors Sabrina Cho and Katina Proestakis Ortiz finished in 14th and 22nd, respectively, and sophomore sabreuse Leah Blum finished 21st in saber.
“Katina has been my day one, my ride or die since my sophomore year … I think we we both thrive on each other's energy," Cho said. "And at the end of the day, I'm just really grateful to have to share this experience with someone as amazing and as talented as she is.”
This year’s NCAA Fencing Championships featured the last matches for seniors who have been crucial to Penn’s fencing programs.
Cho and Ortiz have led Penn women’s fencing in the NCAA Championships throughout their years at Penn, with Cho being named second-team All-America and first-team All-Ivy in 2023.
In this year's NCAA tournament, Cho was filled with emotion — not only because it was her last season, but also from witnessing sophomores Kuznetsov and Blum compete in their first NCAA championship.
“I think that really felt like a physical moment for me, upon reflecting on my first year of qualifying,” she said when seeing them competing on the strip.
Similarly, Louie won Penn’s first NCAA Foil National Championship last season but fell in standings to a 5th place finish this year.
“This has really taught me a lot about myself. I think that going in with really high expectations like that and finishing short obviously was really sad," Louie said. "But realizing that there’s a lot to learn from this experience and there’s a lot of room for growth makes me really excited also about my future endeavors on this sport.”
Kushkov and the rest of the men's team were disappointed to see Louie's finish. That said, Louie's competitive career continues as greater things are on the horizon.
"it's pretty much confirmed that he made the Senior World Team to represent the United States at World Championships, which is huge," Kushkov said. "Just the pinnacle of fencing. So we got to celebrate that with him.”
There is always time for celebration and always something to be grateful for, as the fencing team ends this season and prepares to send off Louie.
“I mean, honestly, Bryce is like a big brother to me,” Kushkov said, “I'm the oldest of four children, and we're all boys, and I think, you know, an older brother is something I've always wished for.”
“He’s a character,” Heathcock added, “but very crucial, I’d say, for the team atmosphere, cultivating team culture.”
Team culture is something Louie has taken on as his responsibility.
“I think that this season we put a bunch of changes in to change the culture especially,” he said, “being a little harder, being a little bit more serious which I really wanted.”
Kushkov and Heathcock noticed how Louie often stayed longer after practice, motivating them to do the same, and everyone working towards a stronger work ethic and commitment. But it didn’t only involve practice and workouts. It also included short dancing videos on social media,
“Definitely will make you step out of your comfort zone," Kushkov said in reference to the social media videos. "Which maybe [is] a little bit tough at first, but that's what really brings us together.”
Regardless of the results at this year’s NCAA Fencing Championships, the seniors left something much more important for the teams they’re leaving behind.
“As bittersweet as this being my last one was,” Cho said, “It's a continuous cycle.”
“We created the strong foundation,” Louie said, “And I’m super excited for next season to see what the Penn program especially will achieve.”
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