WATCH
Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's fencing team will open its 2021 spring season on Sunday, when the Seahawks travel to Drew University.
Sunday's meet marks the first meet for new head coach
Gaby Chau, who took over the program in the fall.
Chau comes to Wagner after a standout career at Boston College. Competing in the sabre weapon, Chau qualified for the NCAA Northeast Regionals twice, with her best finish coming at 13th in her junior season, following a 32-2 conference record which saw her named to the Northeast Fencing Conference's First Team.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be competing this semester," Chau commented. "I am really excited to see the team apply the things we worked on in practice on the competition strip."
The Seahawks will once again be led by senior
Abby Buckborough, who qualified for the NCAA Regionals meet for the third time in 2020. Already the most decorated fencer in Wagner history, Buckborough will look to add to her impressive career in her fourth season on Grymes Hill.
In a unique offseason, Chau found other ways to ready her team for the upcoming season: "We were able to find new opportunities to improve our game. Fencing is an incredibly strategic sport. Each action builds up on previous actions, and with each you are able to learn new information about how your opponent fences. We were able to look at different bouts, from their own fencing to Olympic finals, and break them down into pieces. From there, we could see how to set up actions that emphasize our strengths and dictate how the bout is fenced."
In the weeks leading up to Sunday's season-opener, Chau has seen her student-athlete achieve significant progress: "I know that they've put in the work, they have all the pieces, they just need to put it together. I'm looking for them to make the tactical decisions they need to and then follow through in their execution."
With limited opportunities to compete this season, the Seahawks' new head coach wants her student-athletes to make the most out of the opportunity on Sunday: "My team has worked so hard and they've been incredibly resilient this year. I want to be able to show that this weekend. We have a double header against Drew scheduled, so between the first and second rounds, they should be able to take what they've learned and apply it. They need to fence smart and fence hard, and I know that they can do it."
Last season, Wagner competed twice at Drew. At the Drew Holiday Invitational, the earned Seahawks victories over Yeshiva, Florida, Denison, Hunter, and Army.
Last February, the Green and White placed three fencers in the Top-15 of their respective weapon and finished seventh overall as a team at the NIWFA Championships, as
Caecilia Thuermer led three A-finalists with a third-place finish in the foil competition.
Following Sunday's meet, Wagner will compete at Stevens on Sunday, February 28.
