Sophomore fencers Brian Hartman, Amy McDowell and Katherine Nichols traveled to Marlboro, Mass., to fence in the Junior Olympics last week.
The best high school and collegiate fencers under 20 in the nation competed in the meet, which was held February 14-16.
The meet marks the final time that the three Blue Devils will compete on the junior circuit.
"It was the very last meet for all three of us," McDowell said. "That's why it was so special."
McDowell, who placed first in the women's saber competition last year, did not retain her championship title.
The meet was structured with a preliminary round of round-robin pools of seven, with bouts ending at five touches. The competitors then progressed to direct single and double-elimination rounds to 15 touches.
After fencing undefeated in the preliminary rounds and making it through to the final round, McDowell finished third.
"I'm pretty happy," she said. "I won last year so deep down I was hoping for a repeat performance."
Since there is no women's saber competition in the NCAA, McDowell customarily fences against men. Such experience aides her in non-collegiate competitions.
"Fencing against the men really helps me," she said. "They're stronger and they know more tricks."
Hartman, who placed ninth in the men's epee, also fell short of his expectations. Ranked tenth in the nation, his goal was to finish in the top three, which would earn him a spot on the United States junior world team.
"I felt pretty good out there," he said. "Overall I was pleased but not satisfied with the result."
Hartman also won all of the matches in his round-robin pool, but faced a scare in the round of 24. In a repeat of their match in February in Princeton N.J., Hartman went to sudden death overtime with Marco Acerra of Princeton, as each had won 14 touches. As he did earlier in the year, Hartman won the match 15-14.
Once in the double-elimination round of 12, Hartman lost both matches, and did not advance to the final round of eight.
Hartman has previously represented the U.S. in the junior Pan American games, where he won an individual bronze medal. He placed sixth in the 1996 Olympic Trials and fenced in the Junior World Cup in Budapest.
For Nichols, who qualified for the meet in the North Carolina regional qualifier, the Junior Olympics were her first national competition. She placed 25th out of 136 competitors in the women's epee competition.
Without the support of her entire Duke team and coach, the meet was a new experience.
"In a collegiate meet, it's a very comfortable environment," she said. "This meet was slightly intimidating but very fun."
Nichols was undefeated in her preliminary bouts, and entered the elimination rounds seeded fourth in the tournament.
"That was really shocking," she said. "I was not expecting to do that well. I was afraid it would make me really nervous."
Nerves might have kicked in after she won her initial elimination match.
"I lost to a girl from Temple that I shouldn't have lost to," she said, "but I still should be going to Regionals."
McDowell came into the meet with a great deal of late-season momentum. While she finished 44-42, she showed strong improvement, with most of her wins coming in the second half.
The three fencers will join other Blue Devil teammates on March 7-8 in the NCAA Regional Meet in Haverford, PA.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.