Franke’s fencers eye Top Five spot

After defeating No. 9 Penn and then placing three finalists at the North American Cup, coach Nikki Franke predicts a return to the Top 5 for her club.

Temple has a nationally recognized powerhouse on Main Campus. It’s not named the men’s basketball team, and its coach’s name isn’t Fran Dunphy.

Coach Nikki Franke has led the fencing team to national rankings in the past few seasons, and when the first national polls for 2010 are released next week, she said she is almost certain a Top 10 ranking is in store for Temple again.

“We have a program that is more than reputable,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I don’t think we’re in the Top Five yet, but we can be one of those teams soon.”

Fresh off the Philadelphia Invitational – where the Owls defeated No. 9 Penn for the first time in four years and fell by just five points to last year’s No. 7-ranked team, Northwestern – the Owls headed out to San Jose, Calif., this past weekend for the North American Cup, a national singles tournament that featured some of the best North American fencers.

Temple placed finalists in all three categories – the epee, sabre and foil. Sophomore Jill Bratton placed sixth in the epee and sophomore Alyssa Lomuscio finished eighth in the foil. But sophomore Kamali Thompson’s star shined brightest. The sabre specialist claimed fifth place and turned heads doing so.

“In this tournament, to make the Top 32 is significant and is an excellent result,” Franke said. “We are very excited about these results, and coupled with our team victories last weekend against Penn, Sacred Heart and Farleigh Dickinson, it only looks like good things are coming. [Each fencer also posted a winning record individually in the Philadelphia Invitational].”

Franke is in her 38th season as the director of the fencing program. In that time, she has compiled a more than impressive record of 588-150-1 (this year, she is 4-1 so far).

The sport of fencing may be overlooked by some on Main Campus, but the Owls have a program with a huge reputation, and Franke said she wants to make that known.

“These girls work hard, and they have the support from our great administration, and it’d be great to get more recognition from the students and faculty,” Franke said.

Seniors Kristin Howell (epee) and Melissa Parker (foil) have already earned recognition through previous All-American status and a combined record of 66-24 during their three years. Now, Franke will try to turn them and the rest of her team into NCAA champions. She said she would even like to produce an Olympian or two if she can, as Franke herself competed in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.

“We prepare the girls for that kind of thing,” Franke said. “It’s something that I would love to have happen, but the national groups they get into after Temple are a good thing, too. We’ve really had some people who could have been Olympic fencers.”

Franke just signed two fencers to National Letters of Intent who could potentially be her first to go for the gold. Epiphany Georges of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Tasia Ford of West Sand Lake, N.Y., are two promising young fencers who caught the eye of the Hall of Famer.

Temple cannot afford to bask in its California glory for too long. The Owls will get right back to work to prepare for a multi-meet that will include the Penn State Nittany Lions and then the challenging Duke Invitational.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Eighth-place finish at NCAAs wraps up solid campaign

Once again, the fencing team ended its season on a high note.

The Owls placed eighth in the NCAA Championships last weekend in State College, Pa., as both junior epee Kristin Howell and junior foil Melissa Parker received All-American honorable mentions.

Because Temple doesn’t have a men’s fencing team, it finished 13th overall, as the scores for the men’s and women’s teams are combined.

Still, coach Nikki Franke was satisfied.

“Coach Baker and I are very pleased with how the team performed this year and how we did in these postseason tournaments,” Franke said. “First, we had a 22-7 season record. Next, we won the NIFWAs. Then, we had the maximum number of fencers qualify for the Regional Championships with nine making the finals.”

But it was juniors who the led the charge.

Both Howell and Parker placed 10th in the NCAAs in their respective competitions. Sophomore epee Grace Woo placed 15th, while freshman sabre Kamali Thompson finished 16th and sophomore sabre Audrey Barroso placed 18th.

The Owls, who entered the competition ranked No. 9 in the latest USFCA Coaches Poll, sent five fencers to the NCAAs, which is something Franke is quite proud of.

“We are very excited to have five out of a possible six fencers competing,” she said. “This ties a Temple record for the most NCAA qualifiers.”

That involved Parker and the other competitors going up against the best 23 fencers in each individual competition over a two-day span. The host Nittany Lions took home the crown, while Notre Dame finished second.

“It’s a tremendously strong tournament and two long days of competition against some of the strongest fencers in the country,” Franke said.

Howell, who became the first epee All-American in Temple history, finished 13-10. Parker, who is a two-time All-American, went 12-12. Woo went 9-14, Thompson 8-15, and Barroso 7-16, to round out the lineup.

The Owls’ roster features just three seniors in sabre Kristine Jones, foil Sabrina Shapiro, and epee Kaitlyn Uckert.

The young will team will return most of its players next year.

Joe Polinsky can be reached at joe.polinsky@temple.edu.

Fencing duo sparks team with All-American stature

Tucked deep behind the façade of McGonigle Hall is the training ground for two of the best athletes Temple has to offer.

And though their styles of play contrast, and their game isn’t well-publicized, juniors Melissa Parker and Kristin Howell have helped lead the country’s No. 8-ranked fencing program.

Both Parker and Howell bring unique personalities to the team, but each has reached the elite status of All-American through similar traits.

“I think one of the things is their work ethic,” coach Nikki Franke said. “They both work very hard. They are very committed. They want to be good and do what they need to do in order to continue to improve.”

Howell picked up the game when she was 11, while Parker first began her career at the ripe age of 5. They both came from Texas to play under legendary coach Franke, who is now in her 37th year directing the Owls. Howell was also impressed with the fencing tradition on North Broad Street.
“It’s all about teamwork,” Howell said. “Everything we do is team. I like that a lot. Everyone’s involved, whether it’s punishment or reward.”

Last season was a special one for both fencers, as they made history for the program. In the NCAA Tournament, Parker became the first Temple fencer to be named second-team All-American since Lisa Honig in 1994. Howell dazzled as well, earning the honorable mention distinction in the epee event, a feat never accomplished by an Owl.

Parker’s focus is in the foil event, while Howell’s is in the epee. Both are naturally appropriate for each based on their widely different demeanors.

“Melissa is a much more aggressive fencer,” Franke said. “The weapon fits her personality, while Kristin is kind of laid-back and easygoing and is more opportunistic, which is more of an epee style.”
But the praise from their coach didn’t stop there.

“The weapons that they specialize in many ways complement their personalities, and their personalities complement the weapons they’ve chosen,” Franke said.

Franke also mentioned that while both are leaders in the locker room, each has a different way of getting the message across. Howell is “quiet and reserved,” but speaks up when the time is right, while Parker is a high-energy motivator, constantly seeking to get everyone “pumped up.”

The work that goes into being an All-American fencer isn’t easy.

Like any Division I sport, the offseason is filled with workouts and training designed to improve strength and agility. Tournaments can be all-day affairs, lasting up to 12 hours, so cardio is a premium.

“It’s really hard, actually,” Parker said. “No one realizes all the work that we put into it like conditioning and lifting and taking lessons with Coach. [It’s] really technical. My brain hurts afterward. It’s a whole body workout.”

This year’s NCAA Tournament is March 19 in State College, Pa. Some of the Owls’ biggest rivals will be in attendance, including the country’s No. 1-ranked team and host, Penn State. Both Parker and Howell will be looking to make the progression to first-team All-American.

To do that, they’ll need to battle more than 20 of the country’s finest fencers. The top spots are decided by whoever leads the field in wins. Last season, Parker finished seventh in the foil, while her counterpart Howell was ninth in the epee category.

“At the Championships, you have to get in the Top 12 to be considered All-American,” Howell said. “Everyone’s an incredible fencer, so it’s really difficult.”

If Parker and Howell accomplish their goals, it will not only be because of individual talent but because of the teammates around them. It all stems back to the emphasis the Owls put on the word “team.”
“They couldn’t be as good as they are without the team and the people that they train with everyday,” Franke said.

Parker and Howell have already brought favorable attention to the program but look to continue to build on past and present successes. Come March, the strength of the Owls may lie in the opposing personalities of their All-Americans.

Anthony Stipa can be reached at anthonystipa@temple.edu.

Fencing team gets better with unity

It hasn’t been an easy year so far.

The fencing team has faced a tough schedule this year, as it has gone toe-to-toe with the best programs in the country.

In addition, the Owls look strong as they draw closer to the Regional and NCAA Championships. And with the NCAA polls currently slotting the Owls as the eighth-best team in the country, all coach Nikki Franke’s squad can think about is moving up.

“I would like to see us get ahead of Princeton [the No. 7 team] after we beat them twice,” senior captain Kristine Jones said.

The Owls have been successful this year due to their balanced attack with equal contributions from the sabre, foil and epee squads.

“On any given day, there is one squad that is going to pick up another squad,” Franke said. “If one squad is struggling against a particular school, then another squad picks it up.”

A recent example would be the match against Cornell during the Princeton Multi-Meet, where both the foil and epee squads lost their matchups by a score of 4-5, but sabre brought the heat sweeping Cornell 9-0 to give the Owls an overall victory of 17-10.

But victories like that might be lost on the Owls, as it is almost impossible for the team to win the NCAA Championship since Temple does not have a men’s fencing team to combine a total score with the women’s team.

“It is difficult for us to be NCAA Champions, but we still do well in the NCAAs,” Jones said.

The Owls have the opportunity to have individual fencers qualify for the NCAA Championship, though.

“We definitely have a chance to have several fencers qualify to be in the NCAA Championships,” Franke said. “Our goal is to get the maximum amount of fencers [six] to the regionals and then from the regionals, the NCAAs.”

Franke is looking to have an NCAA run similar to the one the team had last year.

Last season, the Owls had four fencers go all the way to the NCAA Championship, and two earned All-America honors. For the fencers themselves, while the sport is a one-on-one contest, there is an emphasis on team unity.

“We are always together and doing things as a unit,” senior Kaitlyn Uckert said. “We are always looking forward to the next challenge.”

In contrast, other teams seem to rely more on individual talent to win matches.

“That is the difference between us and teams like Penn State,” Jones said. “When you see them warm up, they do it individually.”

Speaking of Penn State, this year, the Owls had a chance to face the No. 1-ranked Nittany Lions. The Owls took a 21-6 defeat, and Franke had nothing but praise for the opponent.

“They were strong throughout all three of their squads,” Franke said. “We will see them again in the regionals, and we prepare for it.”

Franke stresses that the team needs to finish strong, stay motivated and keep up the good work.
“It has been a combination of good preparation, and the girls are really working together,” Franke said.
Despite all the pressure from constantly facing highly regarded teams, the team still tries to keep the atmosphere fun and lighthearted around each other.

“I am not gonna lie, we are maniacs,” senior captain Sabrina Shapiro said. “All of us are crazy.”

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu.

Franke ready for Open

The fencing team was not always the powerhouse it is today.

At one point, it was just a club team.

Then, it was an up-and-coming program.

Now, under the direction of legendary coach Nikki Franke, it is one of the 10 best teams in the country.
“I’ve just got great support, building from nothing to becoming a Top 10 team,” Franke said. “Before, there was just the club.”

Franke, who has been the backbone of the program for its 37-year run, began fencing during her senior year when a program opened up at her high school.

“I took to it, you know,” she said. “I really enjoyed doing it and decided to continue in college.”
She went on to attend City University of New York at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, N.Y., where there was also a program.

“That’s when I started getting serious,” Franke said.

After honing her skills in New York, she made the trip down to Philadelphia and enrolled in Temple’s graduate program for public health, while simultaneously creating the fencing program as it is known today.

“The first team was all beginners. No one had fenced before,” Franke said. “They were all inexperienced. There were no scholarships. There was no recruiting.”

Nowadays, things are much different.

The Owls get players from all over the country to come to North Philadelphia and fence.
“We get girls from California, girls from Texas, coming here for the fencing program,” Franke said, “and the university as well.”

That has all been possible due to the help Franke and the fencing program have received from Temple, which she says has been helpful to the program, despite fencing’s status as a non-revenue sport.

“Over time, we’ve received a tremendous amount of support from the athletic department and university administration,” she said, “not only to start our program but to move our program into a national level.”

Franke, who was selected to be a part of the U.S. Olympic fencing team twice, in 1976 and 1980, has a long and storied career in fencing. Despite those accolades, she is never content.

“One is never satisfied,” she said. “I mean, we’re going in the right direction. We have a very strong program. We’re a top 10 team, and we’ve been one for seven years.”

So it comes as no surprise that she’s always looking to do better.

“Our goal is to be a top 5 team,” Franke said. “That’s the direction we want to go in. We have a fairly young squad this year, so we’ll see what happens.”

UP NEXT: TEMPLE OPEN
Coach Franke and the fencing team will host the Temple Open, collegiate fencing’s largest individual tournament, at McGonigle Hall on Saturday and Sunday.

Fencers from Massachusetts, Indiana and Florida will travel to campus with high hopes.

It is one of the only times the fencing team, which is nationally ranked among the top 10, will be competing at home.

“We see ourselves as being very competitive among the other top 10 teams in the country right now,” senior Kaitlyn Uckert said.

Out of the 17 fencers, 11 are returning from last season, giving the team four seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and five freshmen.

“We tend to do a lot of substitutions,” assistant coach Brad Baker said.

“Everyone gets playing time,” Uckert added.

Mike Podlogar can be reached at michael.podlogar@temple.edu.