Blog Archive

Grace Choi began her fencing journey alongside her older brother Isaac in 2017, shortly after watching the 2016 Rio Olympics. Throughout her time at NWFC, she stuck with épée and competed at the regional and national level.

Steliana Strugar is passionate about art, medical science, and fencing! She started her fencing journey at 6 years old, and after being inspired by her brother Marcus, she started competing at the age of 10. Over the years, she’s traveled all over the U.S. for competitions while making life-long memories.

As Kevin leaves the nest to the University of California San Diego, we wish him continued success in fencing, future internships, and servers that never segfault at the worst possible moment. May his attacks always land, his code compiles on the first try, and his CTF challenges never require guessing.

Nikki’s love for sword fighting began early, but it became a true passion when he started fencing in November 2021. He loves competing in epee at local, regional, and national levels; and one of his proudest accomplishments was earning his A ranking in 2025, a milestone that reflected his hard work and commitment to the sport. While he thrives on competition, what he values most is the enjoyment of fencing and the friendships he has built along the way. He is especially grateful for the coaches and teammates at NWFC, whose support and guidance have made his experience so meaningful.

Sumeru started fencing in 4th grade alongside his younger brother Suyog, and instantly loved the sport. He has competed in Foil at the regional and national levels. He loves travelling all over the country for competitions and spending time with his teammates at practice, camps, and tournaments. Outside of fencing, Sumeru enjoys robotics, coding, travelling, trying new food, watching sports, and hanging out with friends. Sumeru will attend the University of Maryland this fall. He will be majoring in Computer Science and his goal is to create his own tech startup.

Inspired by the Princess Bride and Star Wars, Eric began his fencing journey at age 7. Since then, he’s fallen in love with traveling and competing. His favorite memories have all come from his supporters, from his parents and coaches to the friends he’s made at summer camps and national events.

Anthony Querbach 2025 LEAVING THE NEST SENIORS Anthony has been fencing for a little over 2 years. He started after a debate with a friend from NWFC whether hand-to-hand or fencing would be more useful in a survival situation, and his friend invited Anthony to try out...

Leah Strong 2025 LEAVING THE NEST SENIORS Leah Strong was practically born with a sword in her hand. Every stick or stack of Legos was a sword to be wielded. When we relocated from Idaho to Oregon, and met Maria Copelan, she offered to take Leah to fence with her....

Caleb Mathes 2025 LEAVING THE NEST SENIORS Caleb began his fencing journey only two years ago and as soon as he picked up an Epee in that introductory class, he knew he had found his passion. Caleb moved up to the Comp class and participates in NAC’s, Regionals and...