En garde!

Bob Handelman

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Bob Handelman

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Oliva Ren ’26 (left) and Erica Hooshi ’25 (right), members of the Yale fencing team, sparred during fencing practice early this spring. “The girl on the left lunges, the girl on the right counterattacks with a jump,” explains their coach, Marat Israelian, adding that the action would have played out differently in a real match. “There are more efficient ways to counter.”

There are usually around 30 men and women on Yale’s teams, wielding foils, épées, or sabers. Ren and Hooshi are both foil fencers. Overall, Israelian says the team “did okay” this year, and he is optimistic that “next year will be a much better year for us.” Yale placed 11th out of 33 teams at the 2025 NCAA Championships.