Outstanding Owl

Sara Forsythe, a 19-year-old sophomore, is the 15th-ranked collegiate fencer in the country.

Forsythe began fencing six years ago while in high school.

“I wasn’t good at basketball and I wanted to join some sport,” Forsythe
recalled.

She is an epee fencer, where the entire body is a target and scoring
occurs by using the tip of the blade, not the side.

Forsythe qualified for the NCAA’s in March 2002, for the second year in a
row. She fenced at Drew University in Madison, N.J. from March 22-29
and ended the tournament and the year ranked 15th in the country. Last
year, at her first NCAA Tournament, Forsythe placed 23rd in the nation.

Forsythe had a personal season record of 42-15 and helped the Temple
team place 7th overall.

At this year’s Temple Open, Forsythe placed 6th. In addition, she placed

2nd at the Christmas Invitational, also held at Temple. She also qualified

for the Junior Olympics in Columbus, Ohio for the fourth year in a row.

“I highly recommend the sport. I’ve learned a lot and it has brought
discipline into my life,” Forsythe said.

Forsythe is a Biology major. With demanding classes such as descriptive statistics and organic chemistry, Forsythe maintains a 3.59 GPA.

Currently, Forsythe is debating between a future in pediatric medicine and physical therapy. She is certain, however, that she will continue her studies in Philadelphia.

“I just love Philadelphia. I grew up with the closest city being New York, and it was always too big and scary,” Forsythe commented. “Philadelphia is exciting enough and it seems more people are friendly.”

Forsythe also finds time to volunteer at the Newman Center, the Catholic Church on campus. She has been involved since her freshman year. She participates in various activities, such as cooking for Newman night and helping with Sunday Mass.

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Pooja Shah canbe reached at pshah004@temple.edu