FAIRFIELD, Conn. (December 6, 2023) – The Sacred Heart University men's fencing team picked up a pair of wins on Sunday, as it hosted its annual home meet, the SHU Tradition.
 
The Pios picked up a 17-10 win over Vassar to start the day, and then doubled up with a 15-12 victory over NJIT. First year Chaissen Costello (Tiverton, R.I.) earned praise from his coach by putting together a 7-8 record in the foil, which included a 3-0 sweep against Vassar.
 
"We posted solid wins against strong Vassar and NJIT squads, but after the lunch break, that energy disappeared," said head coach Khristopher White after the meet. "I feel that this men's team has not been fencing up to their potential, and focus and self-confidence issues continue to be the main problem, especially in epee. It does not matter how well you can take a lesson or drill at practice if you cannot get yourself to even attempt to replicate it at a competition. There is no amount of coaching that can fix it if they can't get over that mental block themselves."
 
Despite the obvious disappointment, White was able to pull some positives, as he singled out a few of his fencers for praise in their competitiveness.
 
"That said, I saw quite a few close, 4-5 losses from Chaissen and Vijay Ganta (Warren, N.J.), that shows they were in the bout and fighting to win," continued White. "We just need to learn how to close out a bout while learning from the previous touches you already scored or were hit on. I am happy Chaissen is starting to figure this out as a first year, which shows he still has plenty of time to grow from these tournaments, and he performed the best of everyone today, going 7-8."
 
White also identified Jeff Palma (Rockaway, N.J.) as having, in his view, the bout of the day against Vassar's Brian Li. Palma had lost to Li at "The Big One" at Smith earlier in the year, but was able to grind out a 5-4 victory on Sunday.
 
"Jeffrey has been in a bit of a fencing rut, but fought himself out of it today, and it paid off," continued White. "We went into the bout with a plan and he executed it perfectly. I am hopeful he will be able to maintain what he did today for the rest of the season!"
 
The Pios will be back in action on the other side of the semester break, as they travel to the University of Pennsylvania for the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20.