Yearbook, '01-'02
From left to right:
Back row: Head coach George Clovis, Tim Elling, Eric Cady, Jim Pugh, Tiago Wright, Ghee-xiong Lai, Neal McDaniel, Abraham Kuo, Andrea McColl
Center row: Viet Ngo, Melinda Owens, Sascha Calkins, Jaclyn Homnick, Minta Akin, Elisa Chan, Serina Diniega, Margot Kimura
Front row: Neha Soni, Stephen Underwood, Haomiao Huang, Sara Quan, Peishan Lee, Matthew Jones, ‘Doc Waldo’.
Missing: Jesse Escobedo, Joel Carranza, Kathleen Janover
Overall Recap
The Caltech women’s fencing team came in second in the Intercollegiate Fencing Conference with an 8-4 record, while the men came in fourth at 6-6. Head coach George Clovis continued a successful program of training people with no fencing experience into competitive collegiate fencers – only one of his four All-Conference fencers had had fencing experience before college.
Men’s Team Recap
The men’s foil squad continued to improve its record despite losing its four most senior members over two consecutive years. Run by junior James Pugh and two freshmen, Steven Underwood and Haomiao Huang, the foil squad posted wins against UCLA, USC, and UC Santa Barbara. Individually, Underwood placed 7th in the conference, and H won the conference's 'Best Novice Fencer' award.
The mens epee team started the season with an all-freshman team (Eric Cady, Jesse Escobedo, H until he was moved to foil, and Viet Ngo), but managed to shock UCLA 5-4 in the season opener. Near the end of the season, senior Tim Elling returned to lead the squad over CS Fullerton in the season finale and again at Westerns.
Saber, the most senior (read: old and decrepit) mens squad, posted a 10-2 team record and featured three starters with twelve years of experience. While posting an impressive combined 80-10 bout record against USC, UCLA, UCSB, UCI, and CSUF, the squad put two and two together correctly against UCSD twice, which was unfortunate since they needed to get five to win. Individually, seniors Tiago Wright (2nd) and Abraham Kuo (3rd) each finished with a 31-5 record to make All-Conference, and junior Matthew Jones finished 5th at 26-10. Tiago was also awarded for 'Best Form' in the conference, and Abe won the 'Best Sportsmanship' award.
Women’s Team Recap
The women’s foil squad was led by senior Sascha Calkins and featured a roster which changed with every tournament. Junior Neha Soni and freshmen Kathleen Janover and Jaclyn Homnick showed considerable improvement throughout the year, and the team’s success was highlighted by their 8-1 win over Stanford at Westerns. Sascha finished 3rd in the conference, with a 28-8 record, earning her an All-Conference berth.
The ‘happy-go-lucky’ attitude of the womens epee team with senior Sara Quan, senior Andrea McColl, and sophomore Melinda Owens translated into a fairly impressive 72-36 bout record (7-5 team record). Individually, Sara earned All-Conference accolades with a 3rd place finish (27-9), and both Andrea and Melinda were given honorable mentions for finishing 6th and 8th respectively.
Saber, the most senior (don't call them old) womens squad, posted a 10-2 team record and continued its strong showing in the conference, while receiving an infusion of new blood. Senior Elisa Chan, and juniors Serina Diniega and Minta Akin were joined by freshmen Peishan Lee and Margot Kimura. Fighting through injuries, the squad pulled in 2nd in the conference, while handing first place UCSD their only defeat of the year. Individually, Elisa and Serina were jointly awarded the ‘Best Sportsmanship’ award. ‘Doc Waldo’ came in 1st in the conference, going undefeated against NCAA opponents.
Men’s Individual IFCSC Awards
All-conference:
Tiago Wright (saber)
Abraham Kuo (saber)
Honorable mention:
Matthew Jones (saber)
Stephen Underwood (foil)
Best Sportsmanship:
Abraham Kuo (saber)
Best Novice Fencer:
Haomiao Huang (foil)
Best Form:
Tiago Wright (saber)
Worst Form:
Abraham Kuo (saber)
Women’s Individual IFCSC Awards
All-conference:
Sascha Calkins (foil)
Sara Quan (epee)
Honorable Mention:
Elisa Chan (saber)
Andrea McColl (epee)
Melinda Owens (epee)
Best Sportsmanship:
Serina Diniega (saber)
Elisa Chan (saber)
USFA Squad/Fencing Club
In its third year of existance, the Caltech Fencing club received a huge shot in the arm with the arrival of five-time Luxembourgian National Champion Cedric Anen, and the loan of Canadian World Cup fencer Bonnie Mak. Competing in a variety of tournaments ranging from novice to Div I nationals, the club combined to earn 45 medals over the course of the '01-'02 season. Highlights for the year include Cedric medaling in both NACs which he fenced at, the foil team taking bronze at Pacific Coast Championships (mostly due to Cedric bailing the team out repeatedly), Randy Paffenroth (foil) and Abraham Kuo (foil and epee) earning C02 ratings, Joe Nemanick (foil) and Tiago Wright (saber) earning D02s, Tim Elling (epee) earning an E02 in his first tournament, and Haomiao Huang winning the UCLA novice tournament.