The Wellesley College Fencing Team is wrapping up its most successful season in seven years, fueled by an energetic coaching staff and tough competition. The Blue’s overall record this season stands at 20-9, and this is the first time since their 2010-2011 campaign that the Blue has won over 20 games in a season. The team is led by Head Coach Ariana Klinkov, who has just completed her third year in this role. In Klinkov’s first two seasons, Wellesley qualified 13 fencers for NCAA Division III Northeast Regionals, which is considered an incredible accomplishment. She is assisted by Bojan Jovanovic, who joined the coaching staff this season, and Rob Charlton, who has been on staff for 11 seasons. Jovanovic was an Olympic fencer for Croatia and competed in the 2012 London Games.
The team is led by captain Taylor Hood ’18. Her leadership both during and outside of competition has propelled the Blue to new and exciting feats. She explained that positivity and support were the two main goals that the Blue focused on heading into the season. “We also had drilled the mindset into our heads that anyone could be beaten. There are some very strong fencers in our division, but we went into every bout thinking that it was possible for us to win. This is a huge attitude change from previous years on the team,” Hood said. Although her time at Wellesley is coming to a close, she is excited about the future of the fencing program and believe her coaches and teammates will continue with this season’s momentum.
Another standout on the team is Julia Calventus-Coveney ’21, who has a record of 65-9 this season, one of the best individual win records in Wellesley Fencing history. Calventus-Coveney beat some of the toughest competitors in the division and went undefeated in many competitions. She will be a tremendous asset to the team moving forward, and the team hopes to build off of her success in the coming seasons. Another crucial contributor to the team’s victories was Meg Harney ’19. She had a record of 54-24 and is the junior captain, training to take over the roll of captain next season.
The Blue put together a perfect 6-0 record in their most recent competition at the third Northeast Fencing Conference meet of the season on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Smith College. Wellesley defeated Dartmouth, UMass, Smith, Vassar, Boston University and Tufts. Wellesley Fencing will compete once more this season at the NEIFC Championships on Feb. 24 at Mount Holyoke College. The team hopes to have continued success as this season comes to a close and preparations begin for next season.