Temple University Athletics
Saturday, October 29
Liacouras Center
All Day
Temple University
vs
Temple Open
Fencing Hosts 37th Annual Temple Open on Saturday at the Liacouras Center
10.25.16 | Women's Fencing
PHILADELPHIA - The 37th annual Temple Open will mark the official opening of the season for Temple fencing, as the Owls get set to host the prestigious meet on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29-30. The women's events will be held on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the men's events following the same schedule on Sunday. The entire event is free to fans.
"We have over 550 fencers registered and about 30 schools will be represented," said head coach Dr. Nikki Franke. "The team is very excited, especially the newcomers for their first Temple Open. Having it in the Liacouras Center gives us a wonderful venue to run a very good tournament with that many people. Our alums who come back and help are fantastic. It's always good to get that first tournament under your belt. That will help us get ready for the rest of the meets this fall. We're excited about having the tournament, and about introducing fencing and our team to the University community."
The team's strong tradition of success will be carried forward by a very young group in the 2016-17 season, with 11 of the Owls' 16 fencers being underclassmen. Coming off a year which saw Temple graduate six seniors, with three of those being among the four to represent the Owls at the NCAA Championships, the youthful squad has big shoes to fill this season.
Leading the way for her 45th season at the helm Franke, who is just three wins away from 750 for her career.
"We have a very young team this year," she said. "Especially with six newcomers, the challenge is always to get them acclimated to our team culture. With such a large group, they definitely have a big influence on what our team identity will be. The upperclassmen have the responsibility of really setting the tone and spending time talking to the newcomers about what Temple Fencing is all about. It's exciting, because it's our future, and we're excited about the group that we have. They're very committed and very enthusiastic, so that makes the job of the upperclassmen that much easier."
Franke recruited five true freshmen and one sophomore transfer to join the Owls this year, and both Franke and assistant coach Josh Herring say that positive changes in the athletic department have made life "a little easier" as far as recruiting. The changes, including a much-improved Under Armour apparel contract, brand new locker rooms, and continued improvements to the Resnick Academic Center, have impressed both the recruits and their parents, according to the coaches.
While the team is young as a whole, the leadership will be very strong for the Owls. Chosen as team captain this season is senior Alexandra Keft, also the epee squad leader.
"Alex is an outstanding leader," said Franke. "Her commitment to the team, her commitment to each of the girls, her relationship with us as coaches – she's just a very easy-going, hard-working, outstanding young lady. The team clearly voted her captain because of the respect they have for her as a person as well as the respect they have for her as a fencer."
Assisting Keft will be her two fellow seniors, Kristen Kemnitzer who will serve as the foil squad leader, and Victoria Suber who will be the sabre squad leader.
"Our squad leaders really garner the respect of the team because of who they are as people, the way they carry themselves, and their commitment to the team's success," said Franke. "They are really three very unselfish people and that's really important."
Suber is the lone upperclassman on the five-member sabre squad, coached by Herring.
"Victoria brings a lot of passion and a strong work ethic to the team," said Herring. "When she comes to practice she's very focused and she motivates the others and helps get them ready. Our other two returners, sophomores Blessing Olaode and Jessica Rockford, you can tell they have a renewed fire this year."
The three returners are joined by freshmen Malia Hee and Kerry Plunkett, who come from the same club team in Oregon.
"The club team Malia and Kerry come from has a culture of intense work and dedication," said Herring. "I think they're both trying to come in and continue that work ethic while also trying to adjust to college life and a new team."
"The sabre freshmen will definitely add to the depth of the team," said Franke, "and for Blessing and Jessica, it's night and day with the second year compared to the first. They have come back not only with renewed energy, but also they know the system, they know what's expected and it really makes a world of difference. We're expecting all of them to just really blossom this year."
The five-member foil squad will be led by Kemnitzer, a senior who has shown tremendous dedication to the team throughout her career. Junior Becca Stanford is the other upperclassman on the squad, and sophomore Auset Muhammad returns for her second season. Freshmen Kennedy Lovelace and Alexa Prasher are Coach Franke's new additions to the foil squad this year.
"The freshmen bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm," she said. "They're working together very well with the returners. We have a lot of high expectations for them. We've gotten deeper, and that added depth will help us in training as well as in competition. We lost some very strong people on all our squads, so the returners have big shoes to fill and they're working on that. The freshmen are coming in just trying to see where they fit and what's expected of them."
Team captain Keft is also the epee squad leader, and is looking for her first NCAA Championships appearance after coming close with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Regionals last year. Junior Safa Ibrahim returns looking for her third-straight NCAA Championships berth, and the duo lead a six-member squad that has two other returners in sophomores Quinn Duwelius and Fiona Fong. Joining the epee squad are sophomore transfer Ally Micek and freshman Camille Simmons.
As always, the team has a challenging lineup of opponents on the schedule, but Franke thinks this year may set a new standard.
"We've always had strong schedules, but I think this is probably one of the strongest we've ever had," said Franke. "It's going to be very challenging, but I think it will definitely help us in the long run. We may have bumps and bruises along the way, but as long as we're learning from it and not letting it discourage us, then it's a positive."
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"We have over 550 fencers registered and about 30 schools will be represented," said head coach Dr. Nikki Franke. "The team is very excited, especially the newcomers for their first Temple Open. Having it in the Liacouras Center gives us a wonderful venue to run a very good tournament with that many people. Our alums who come back and help are fantastic. It's always good to get that first tournament under your belt. That will help us get ready for the rest of the meets this fall. We're excited about having the tournament, and about introducing fencing and our team to the University community."
The team's strong tradition of success will be carried forward by a very young group in the 2016-17 season, with 11 of the Owls' 16 fencers being underclassmen. Coming off a year which saw Temple graduate six seniors, with three of those being among the four to represent the Owls at the NCAA Championships, the youthful squad has big shoes to fill this season.
Leading the way for her 45th season at the helm Franke, who is just three wins away from 750 for her career.
"We have a very young team this year," she said. "Especially with six newcomers, the challenge is always to get them acclimated to our team culture. With such a large group, they definitely have a big influence on what our team identity will be. The upperclassmen have the responsibility of really setting the tone and spending time talking to the newcomers about what Temple Fencing is all about. It's exciting, because it's our future, and we're excited about the group that we have. They're very committed and very enthusiastic, so that makes the job of the upperclassmen that much easier."
Franke recruited five true freshmen and one sophomore transfer to join the Owls this year, and both Franke and assistant coach Josh Herring say that positive changes in the athletic department have made life "a little easier" as far as recruiting. The changes, including a much-improved Under Armour apparel contract, brand new locker rooms, and continued improvements to the Resnick Academic Center, have impressed both the recruits and their parents, according to the coaches.
While the team is young as a whole, the leadership will be very strong for the Owls. Chosen as team captain this season is senior Alexandra Keft, also the epee squad leader.
"Alex is an outstanding leader," said Franke. "Her commitment to the team, her commitment to each of the girls, her relationship with us as coaches – she's just a very easy-going, hard-working, outstanding young lady. The team clearly voted her captain because of the respect they have for her as a person as well as the respect they have for her as a fencer."
Assisting Keft will be her two fellow seniors, Kristen Kemnitzer who will serve as the foil squad leader, and Victoria Suber who will be the sabre squad leader.
"Our squad leaders really garner the respect of the team because of who they are as people, the way they carry themselves, and their commitment to the team's success," said Franke. "They are really three very unselfish people and that's really important."
Suber is the lone upperclassman on the five-member sabre squad, coached by Herring.
"Victoria brings a lot of passion and a strong work ethic to the team," said Herring. "When she comes to practice she's very focused and she motivates the others and helps get them ready. Our other two returners, sophomores Blessing Olaode and Jessica Rockford, you can tell they have a renewed fire this year."
The three returners are joined by freshmen Malia Hee and Kerry Plunkett, who come from the same club team in Oregon.
"The club team Malia and Kerry come from has a culture of intense work and dedication," said Herring. "I think they're both trying to come in and continue that work ethic while also trying to adjust to college life and a new team."
"The sabre freshmen will definitely add to the depth of the team," said Franke, "and for Blessing and Jessica, it's night and day with the second year compared to the first. They have come back not only with renewed energy, but also they know the system, they know what's expected and it really makes a world of difference. We're expecting all of them to just really blossom this year."
The five-member foil squad will be led by Kemnitzer, a senior who has shown tremendous dedication to the team throughout her career. Junior Becca Stanford is the other upperclassman on the squad, and sophomore Auset Muhammad returns for her second season. Freshmen Kennedy Lovelace and Alexa Prasher are Coach Franke's new additions to the foil squad this year.
"The freshmen bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm," she said. "They're working together very well with the returners. We have a lot of high expectations for them. We've gotten deeper, and that added depth will help us in training as well as in competition. We lost some very strong people on all our squads, so the returners have big shoes to fill and they're working on that. The freshmen are coming in just trying to see where they fit and what's expected of them."
Team captain Keft is also the epee squad leader, and is looking for her first NCAA Championships appearance after coming close with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Regionals last year. Junior Safa Ibrahim returns looking for her third-straight NCAA Championships berth, and the duo lead a six-member squad that has two other returners in sophomores Quinn Duwelius and Fiona Fong. Joining the epee squad are sophomore transfer Ally Micek and freshman Camille Simmons.
As always, the team has a challenging lineup of opponents on the schedule, but Franke thinks this year may set a new standard.
"We've always had strong schedules, but I think this is probably one of the strongest we've ever had," said Franke. "It's going to be very challenging, but I think it will definitely help us in the long run. We may have bumps and bruises along the way, but as long as we're learning from it and not letting it discourage us, then it's a positive."
Video Preview
Players Mentioned
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
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