Foil Julian Cardillo '14 qualified for the NCAA Championships last weekend, the only member of the fencing team to do so.
Cardillo finished seventh at regionals last weekend, where the top eight finishers qualify. Cardillo, who came into the meet ranked ninth, said that he was thrilled with the results.
"I'm so happy with myself, and I fenced my absolute best today," he said. "I had the jitters going into it. It's an amazing feeling."
Cardillo also said that it took a bit of luck for him to qualify.
"I'm kind of fortunate because New England and the Northeast have the toughest qualifying divisions, so they let eight people qualify, so that's an advantage for me," he said.
Cardillo was named the Northeast Fencing Conference Fencer of the Year this season after finishing with a 24-1 record this season. He also was named the University Athletic Association Fencer of the Week for the week ending Feb. 27 for his performance at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference championships, where he finished 10-0.
Cardillo said that he is excited about his chances at nationals and thinks that he has the chance to perform well at the tournament.
"If I fenced the way I fenced today, I'll do really well," he said. "Honestly, I want to fence my best. . I want to be realistic. I have the potential to do very well. . When nationals come, I'm going to try my hardest to fence my best. I'm very confident good things will happen."
Coach Bill Shipman agreed, saying that he was confident that Cardillo would excel at nationals.
"He's an excellent competitor and I'm sure he'll do a great job at [the] Ohio State [University]," Shipman said.
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Josh Asen contributed reporting.Editor's note: Julian Cardillo '14 is a Sports staff writer for the Justice.