Former Harvard standout Caroline Vloka is CF360's final guest columnist for 2013 NCAA analysis and projection. Vloka certainly can speak from experience, as she was in the running for the NCAA women's saber title all four years of her career (5th or higher each season). Vloka won the NCAA title as a sophomore, one rear after losing in the 2009 final vs. eventual 3-time champion Becca Ward of Duke. As a junior, Vloka made a third straight trip to the medal round (top-4) and narrowly missed a top-4 finish as a senior (5th).
By Caroline Vloka (Harvard '12)
The NCAA Fencing Championship is a competition unlike any other. It is fast-paced, and every five-touch bout counts for more than any fencer would like. The pool bout in sabre goes by so quickly that it's almost as if you hadn’t fenced at all. It is very unnerving after the first round, to see that more than 1/5th of the competition is already over. It is hard to recover from a two-bout loss early on, and the mindset is everything.
This competition tests your mental toughness.The fencer must change the strategy from one opponent to the next, within only a few minutes.The competitors are some of the best in the county, and each fencer is pushed to their mental limits in trying to compose a new approach for each bout.
This year, the women’s sabre pool is very interesting and exciting. There are many new faces, as many familiar faces have graduated. My first top-four prediction is Anna Limbach. Anna is a very reliable fencer from St. Johns who has a very clean and difficult style to fence against. She is able to stay calm and concentrated in the face of a hard bout or to come back from a losing score.
My second top four prediction is Eliza Stone. Eliza is a very smart fencer. She knows how to use her strengths and pulls out the opponent’s weaknesses. She knows how to control the bout and uses this strength relentlessly. She finished in the top two last year, and I think she will continue her All American spot.
I actually cannot say that I could pick out two more top four spots for predictions. There is a large pool of very talented fencers who would be no surprise to end up the podium. The Diedro sisters from Columbia are very strong and either could fight out a spot. I am also keeping an eye on Nicole Glon (Penn State) and Lian Osier (Notre Dame), both of who are very dedicated and smart fencers, who know how to adapt to a situation and could make an appearance on the top-four podium.
I am very excited to see what happens at this NCAA tournament. I wish all the fencers good luck!!