Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: SPORTS

Media Credit: Courtney Roberts NT fencing club members, (from L-R) Vincent Santa Maria, Ben Simpson and James Perez, pose for a picture. The team won foil at the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournament this past weekend.

The NT Fencing Club walked away with the first place finish at the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournament Saturday at the Houston University campus.

NT competitors won each of his or her bouts in pool play, and the team won three straight encounters to win the tournament in the foil weapon division.

"Winning this tournament means a lot," senior James Perez said. "I've never placed in a tournament, so to go from never placing to getting first is really cool."

The team that won the championship consisted of Perez, senior Ben Simpson and graduate student Vincent Santa Maria.

NT earned a bye in the direct elimination rounds by winning all its bouts in pool play. The team defeated Texas A&M University, Baylor University and the University of Texas in the direct elimination rounds.

"Beating those schools is going to help us gain some recognition," Santa Maria said. "There were quite a few people who were surprised we did so well."

The club's first bout in the direct elimination rounds was won 5-4 over A&M. Simpson won all three of his bouts, and Perez won two others to help the team advance to the next round.

In the semifinals, NT bested Baylor 5-3 for the advancement. Simpson won all three of his bouts again while Santa Maria won two to finish the match.

The finals pitted NT against UT, but NT came out victorious 5-3 after Simpson and Santa Maria won two bouts each, and Perez took the fifth.

"UT's coach came up to us after the tournament and said we did some good fencing,"Santa Maria said. "That means a lot coming from those guys."

The club will now prepare for its next SWIFA tournament, to be held Saturday, Nov. 15, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

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