When she committed to Duke four years ago, Becca Ward all but retired from international fencing.
She was just a few months removed from winning bronze medals in the team and individual saber events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she arrived in Durham as a freshman. But her desire for a normal college experience outweighed her aspirations for a world-class fencing career.
Ward’s prep coach wanted her to attend a university that breeds international fencers. But renowned fencing schools like Notre Dame and Penn State just did not seem to offer exactly what Ward wanted out of a college. Plus, Duke offered to make her the first fencing scholarship recipient in program history.
“I just wanted both the ability to fence how I wanted and not be pressured to go into world cups or grand prixes if I didn’t want to, to be able to be that team member, and to have a good education when I came out of it,” Ward said. “All of those factors combined just made my choice for Duke really easy.”
She has taken full advantage of the University’s offerings throughout her four years on campus, as a member of the selective living group Brownstone, a writer for Rival Magazine and a member of the First Year Advisory Council board.
On top of all of this, Ward has changed the face of Duke fencing, becoming the first women’s saber to win three NCAA championships with her title last weekend.
Ward committed herself to transforming a weak program into almost an entirely new team. She loves the team camaraderie that exists at Duke even in such an individual sport, and she says when she is happy, she fences better—and clearly she has been fencing very well.
By agreeing to be a part of the Blue Devil squad four years ago, Ward ultimately decided the fate of her fencing career. She opted to not attempt to compete in the 2012 London Olympics, instead choosing to finish off her last year and a half at Duke—once again, against the wishes of her old coach.
“I have already gone down that path, I have already lived that life,” Ward said. “I’ve been in international competitions since I was thirteen. It was a pretty one-dimensional focus, and when I came to Duke I made a very conscious decision that I wanted to fence NCAAs. I wanted to have that team experience. I wanted to have that college experience, and that combined with a lot of tensions and a lot of dramatics with my coach from back home within the Olympic cycle, that just wasn’t something that seemed appealing to me.”
Academics and the NCAA competition season overlapped with the international events that would have allowed Ward to qualify for the Olympics, forcing her to choose one or the other. The course to qualifying for the Olympic team is not an easy one—it would have required her to miss her final three semesters.
“I can’t imagine coming back a year and a half later and having all of my friends graduated,” Ward said. “Losing all the memories I’ve made in the last year and a half, and leaving that for a life I’ve already known, it’s crazy to me.”
This year’s Olympic Games do not have a team event for women’s saber competition, and Ward would have had to gain enough points to receive one of two U.S. spots in the individual event, which are highly contested. To rack up the required number of points, a lot of world travel would have been required—time Ward could not give because of her commitment to Duke.
After winning her third saber national championship as a Blue Devil, Ward does not regret her decision to forego international competition for the Blue Devils’ team schedule.
“I won the last bout,” Ward said. “I got the last touch, and I turned around and my coach was teary-eyed, and I just started crying, and my team rushed in and it was a very nice final note to end on.”
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