Team attitude leads to team victory
MATT LOZAR
Sports Columnist
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
Maggie Jordan hadn't won a bout all day.
In fact, prior to her last three bouts, Jordan had won only four bouts in 20 previous attempts.
But she saved her first win of the day for the perfect time.
With the national championship still undecided, the Irish were ahead by less than five points when Jordan and teammate Destanie Milo fenced Nittany Lion Austin O'Neill in the last round of the womens sabre competition.
Milo had won her first bout, but Jordan dropped her first one when her pivotal bout with O'Neill was up.
Jordan won 5-2.
O'Neill was so shell-shocked, she dropped her bout to Milo 5-0.
Credit those knockout punches to the inspiration provided by the rest of the Notre Dame fencers.
"That was incredible because Notre Dame was cheering so much for me and I didn't even hear Penn State cheering for the other girl. I just blocked them out," Milo said. "Their cheering helped me, kept me going and kept my adrenaline going. I don't know if I could have done it if I didn't have the team helping me out."
While the sabre fencers were finishing off the Nittany Lions, the Irish were also fencing their last bouts in epee. As these two weapons simultaneously took place, the Irish faithful went from strip to strip providing support as they did all weekend.
They cheered the epeeists to a perfect 6-0 record, which set up the womens foil squad to put the finishing touches on a long-deserved national title.
"It feels unbelievable because we have been trying to do this forever," Jordan said.
More talented Notre Dame teams in the past failed to win it all. They didn't understand in such an individual sport as fencing, it's the team attitude that matters the most.
Notre Dame was the team from the first round Saturday yelling and cheering every point; last year that enthusiasm wasn't present until it was too late.
Notre Dame was the school with team members who weren't fencing encouraging others and giving advice, knowing each bout means so much.
Most importantly, Notre Dame was a team from the first touch at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to the trophy presentation 4 p.m. Sunday.
That support and team attitude outmatched any other school based on sheer numbers.
No other school had scholarship fencers who didn't qualify and walk-ons make the trip to Colorado Springs to cheer their team. Through being a part of the team in practices and dual meets, they knew first-year head coach Janusz Bednarski was building something special.
In the matchup against Penn State in early February, Bednarski brought the team in a huge huddle before the match against the defending national champions.
Bednarski had the team come back from spring break a few days early to travel to Chicago and train as a team at a fencing club.
They went to see the movie "Chicago" Friday as a team.
Bednarski gathered them as a team before the start of Sunday's competition for some final words of motivation. After his speech, a loud "Go Irish" echoed throughout the Cadet Fieldhouse.
Then, when all the flashbulbs were done popping, Bednarski gathered his team again in the middle of the fieldhouse, told them, "For the whole year, we made it," led them in the Our Father and once again, a "Go Irish" rattled the training facility.
Never before had that phrase meant so much to this team.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Matt Lozar at mlozar@nd.edu.
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 24, 2003
