Post by schlager7 on Aug 12, 2007 11:05:17 GMT -6
Fencer doesn't settle for silver this year
August 5, 2007
Shrevepost Times
Original Article
Photo
Shreveport fencer Evelyn Scarborough’s blade is pointing in the right direction.
At the Summer National Fencing Championships in Miami, Evelyn won the Division 1-A Women’s Epee. This is her eighth national medal and her first national championship title. The win has ranked her high among epeeists nationwide.
Evelyn said she values this medal not only because of its prestige, but also because she has made it to the finals and won the silver medal in both 2003 and 2005. Evelyn described all three events to be emotional roller coasters.
“The first time I got second was a very tough one to swallow,” she said. “I had only lost by one touch. I started getting leg cramps during the final eight matches. I was excited after beating a very difficult opponent and wasn’t drinking enough fluids. When I got into finals, I could not stand up.”
Fencing tournament officials do not consider leg cramps to be a medical emergency to stop a match to allow for rest, so the match had to go on.
“So I was rolling on the floor and finally the trainers got me on the floor and the opponent drug out the fight into overtime until she finally got the final touch,” she said. “It was really tough because I felt that it was mine and it was kind of taken from me. The second time I had a really hard match and I’m not surprised that I lost that one.”
When she made it to the finals again this year, Evelyn almost thought she was in the past. She had fallen behind 7-11 to her opponent, Christine Dominick of Colorado, and she was in danger of coming home with another silver medal. But Evelyn said she cleared her head and was able to make an incredible comeback to 15-12 to win the match while only letting her opponent score one more touch on her.
Evelyn said as she stared at the score when she was down, she was troubled for a moment, but pressed on to victory by staying in the match.
“When I was down, I thought, ‘Oh, no, it’s happening again,’” she recounted. “It has happened to me so many times where I’ve been ahead and you start tasting it and you think, ‘Oh, I’m about to make the top eight,’ or ‘Oh, I’m about to win the tournament,’ and that’s when it can really break you and your opponent can come back. So I try to keep myself from thinking about the outcome of the match until it’s over. I don’t care if I only have one more point to go. I’m not thinking about that, you just can’t. So when I won, I was really surprised.”
Cheering Evelyn on were her family and her first fencing coach, Sharron Settlemire. Sharron said that as Evelyn started to make her comeback, the entire crowd was on the edge of their seats. And when the scoreboard’s green light came on signaling her winning touch, everyone exploded with excitement.
“It was surreal to watch her win,” Sharron said. “They fenced on an elevated platform and I was sitting on the end of the strip and when that green light went off to make it 15-12, I didn’t know I could jump but I shot up. It was an amazing moment and it’s one that is captured in my mind forever. She’s worked so hard to obtain this title.”
Evelyn’s victory has placed her quite high in ratings. She is currently in the top 16 of national points and now is qualified to compete in upcoming world cup events throughout Europe. While she’s currently in the running to make a stand at the Olympic trails next spring, any wins before that will affect where she is seeded in the trials.
Evelyn started fencing at Caddo Magnet High School under Sharron originally and continued to fence while she studied at Cornell University and then Centenary and throughout her graduate work in kinesiology through the University of Texas. After her master’s degree she plans to enter medical school here in Shreveport this year.
Evelyn first got into fencing because a friend asked her to try the sport for a physical education class, but once she tried it, she learned that it was a sport that fit her well.
“I have a martial arts background,” she said. “I’m a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I’ve always liked combat sports where you have to play someone else and it’s not just how fast you are. I like the physical and mental side of trying to fight somebody else.”
Evelyn continued fencing as an adult through the local clubs in town after she returned from Cornell, but one of her hardest problems to overcome was finding a high level fencer who can teach her.
“I started traveling to Dallas to take classes from Jim Carpenter, a 1996 Olympian who came to the Rose Tournament here in town,” she said. “I started going over there every weekend and he eventually started a club over there and I started training.
While she has been going to Dallas to work with Jim as much as possible, Evelyn also began fitness training with Sharron and working on basics and footwork. Together they have noticed several minor things that she changed that already has given her leverage on her opponents.
“She’s easy to work with because she wants to be the best that she can be,” Sharron said. “I really enjoy working with someone who enjoys the process.”
Their time they’ve spent together was celebrated in Miami when Evelyn was able to present Sharron the coach’s medal after she was given hers.
“Only the winner gets to give their coach a medal and I have been working with Jim as my coach for several years,” Evelyn said. “I got second in two national events before this, and I would have given him the medal, but I’ve been working a little with her and although Jim’s my coach, I decided to give it to her. It was really nice.”
While she is continuing her footwork and physical training on a regular basis in Shreveport and making it to Dallas to work with Jim when she can, Evelyn’s progress is slowed by the lack of daily practice with fencers on her level in the area.
“As far as fencing, I can do well because I have a strong background, but I’m definitely hindered by the fact that I don’t have other elite fencers or someone that can give me elite epee lessons on a regular basis,” she said. “So I have to make up for that with superior conditioning and be really strong and have my basics down perfectly.”
August 5, 2007
Shrevepost Times
Original Article
Photo
Shreveport fencer Evelyn Scarborough’s blade is pointing in the right direction.
At the Summer National Fencing Championships in Miami, Evelyn won the Division 1-A Women’s Epee. This is her eighth national medal and her first national championship title. The win has ranked her high among epeeists nationwide.
Evelyn said she values this medal not only because of its prestige, but also because she has made it to the finals and won the silver medal in both 2003 and 2005. Evelyn described all three events to be emotional roller coasters.
“The first time I got second was a very tough one to swallow,” she said. “I had only lost by one touch. I started getting leg cramps during the final eight matches. I was excited after beating a very difficult opponent and wasn’t drinking enough fluids. When I got into finals, I could not stand up.”
Fencing tournament officials do not consider leg cramps to be a medical emergency to stop a match to allow for rest, so the match had to go on.
“So I was rolling on the floor and finally the trainers got me on the floor and the opponent drug out the fight into overtime until she finally got the final touch,” she said. “It was really tough because I felt that it was mine and it was kind of taken from me. The second time I had a really hard match and I’m not surprised that I lost that one.”
When she made it to the finals again this year, Evelyn almost thought she was in the past. She had fallen behind 7-11 to her opponent, Christine Dominick of Colorado, and she was in danger of coming home with another silver medal. But Evelyn said she cleared her head and was able to make an incredible comeback to 15-12 to win the match while only letting her opponent score one more touch on her.
Evelyn said as she stared at the score when she was down, she was troubled for a moment, but pressed on to victory by staying in the match.
“When I was down, I thought, ‘Oh, no, it’s happening again,’” she recounted. “It has happened to me so many times where I’ve been ahead and you start tasting it and you think, ‘Oh, I’m about to make the top eight,’ or ‘Oh, I’m about to win the tournament,’ and that’s when it can really break you and your opponent can come back. So I try to keep myself from thinking about the outcome of the match until it’s over. I don’t care if I only have one more point to go. I’m not thinking about that, you just can’t. So when I won, I was really surprised.”
Cheering Evelyn on were her family and her first fencing coach, Sharron Settlemire. Sharron said that as Evelyn started to make her comeback, the entire crowd was on the edge of their seats. And when the scoreboard’s green light came on signaling her winning touch, everyone exploded with excitement.
“It was surreal to watch her win,” Sharron said. “They fenced on an elevated platform and I was sitting on the end of the strip and when that green light went off to make it 15-12, I didn’t know I could jump but I shot up. It was an amazing moment and it’s one that is captured in my mind forever. She’s worked so hard to obtain this title.”
Evelyn’s victory has placed her quite high in ratings. She is currently in the top 16 of national points and now is qualified to compete in upcoming world cup events throughout Europe. While she’s currently in the running to make a stand at the Olympic trails next spring, any wins before that will affect where she is seeded in the trials.
Evelyn started fencing at Caddo Magnet High School under Sharron originally and continued to fence while she studied at Cornell University and then Centenary and throughout her graduate work in kinesiology through the University of Texas. After her master’s degree she plans to enter medical school here in Shreveport this year.
Evelyn first got into fencing because a friend asked her to try the sport for a physical education class, but once she tried it, she learned that it was a sport that fit her well.
“I have a martial arts background,” she said. “I’m a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I’ve always liked combat sports where you have to play someone else and it’s not just how fast you are. I like the physical and mental side of trying to fight somebody else.”
Evelyn continued fencing as an adult through the local clubs in town after she returned from Cornell, but one of her hardest problems to overcome was finding a high level fencer who can teach her.
“I started traveling to Dallas to take classes from Jim Carpenter, a 1996 Olympian who came to the Rose Tournament here in town,” she said. “I started going over there every weekend and he eventually started a club over there and I started training.
While she has been going to Dallas to work with Jim as much as possible, Evelyn also began fitness training with Sharron and working on basics and footwork. Together they have noticed several minor things that she changed that already has given her leverage on her opponents.
“She’s easy to work with because she wants to be the best that she can be,” Sharron said. “I really enjoy working with someone who enjoys the process.”
Their time they’ve spent together was celebrated in Miami when Evelyn was able to present Sharron the coach’s medal after she was given hers.
“Only the winner gets to give their coach a medal and I have been working with Jim as my coach for several years,” Evelyn said. “I got second in two national events before this, and I would have given him the medal, but I’ve been working a little with her and although Jim’s my coach, I decided to give it to her. It was really nice.”
While she is continuing her footwork and physical training on a regular basis in Shreveport and making it to Dallas to work with Jim when she can, Evelyn’s progress is slowed by the lack of daily practice with fencers on her level in the area.
“As far as fencing, I can do well because I have a strong background, but I’m definitely hindered by the fact that I don’t have other elite fencers or someone that can give me elite epee lessons on a regular basis,” she said. “So I have to make up for that with superior conditioning and be really strong and have my basics down perfectly.”