Physics freshman second female fencer from McGill to win Quebec title
MONTREAL – Erin Olson, an 18-year-old science freshman from Minneapolis, Minn., became the second McGill woman ever to win a provincial Triple-A title at the Quebec Fencing Federation championship, a tournament hosted by the Club d’escrime Lagardère in Montreal on Sunday.
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The 5-foot-6 physics major won all of her 14 bouts over the weekend to finish first of seven competitors. After going 12-0 in the preliminary round-robin, she defeated fourth-ranked Sophie Couture of Club d’escrime Coeur de Lion 15-8 in a semifinal and then beat second-seeded Erika Timoshenko of Collège Brébeuf 15-6 in the final to capture the women’s sabre title.
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Olson's victory was the first medal performance in two years for the McGill fencing team and the first gold medal since Alex Zarama won the 2005-06 AAA championship in women's foil. Zarama went on to serve as coach of the McGill team the following season.
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”Erin’s performance was impressive, especially for a freshman,” said McGill coach Andrew Dathan-Frankel. “She combines exceptionalĚýaggressivenessĚýwith blinding speed and perfect execution. SheĚýoverwhelmsĚýher opponents by exploiting minor errors and preempting their opportunity to begin an attack.”
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Olson won two of three head-to-head meetings with Timoshenko over the season. Previously, Olson had finished second to Timoshenko in a Jan. 24 rendez-vous but she battled back to win the Feb. 21 competition, held in St. Jean sur Richelieu.
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"Erin’s contribution to the team outside ofĚýcompetitionĚýwas equally important," added Dathan-Frankel. "She only joined us this year, but immediately took charge of the sabre squad by leading drills, encouraging new recruits to compete in the weapon, and advising lessĚýexperiencedĚýfencers. As my coaching expertiseĚýis limited to Ă©±čĂ©±đ and foil, herĚýcomplementaryĚýcontribution was invaluable. I have no doubt that she will play a major role in shaping the team during her next three years at McGill."
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The differs from the other modern fencing weapons, the and , in that it is possible to score with the edge of the blade. For the other two weapons, valid touches are only scored using the point of the blade. Like foil, sabre uses the convention of to determine who acquires the touch.
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It marks the second major achievement this season for the McGill fencing program, which also made news last November when Vincent Larochelle of the men’s squad, won a Rhodes Scholarship.
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SOURCE: Earl Zukerman Communications Officer Athletics & Recreation Ď㽶ĘÓƵ 475 Pine Avenue W., Montreal, QCĚý H2W 1S4 CANADA 514-398-7012 (Tel.) 514-398-1956 (Fax) www.mcgill.ca/athletics