Comments on “On the strip”

Great article and very well done slide show. Happy to see fencing getting some press. The program is fantastic and deserves praise (especially Syd). Go Eagles!

Thank you for the great feature on the Fencing team in the latest issue of BC Magazine. Many of my fondest memories from BC are from my hours spent practicing, traveling, and competing as a member of the men’s team. Fencing is one of the few sports in which men and women regularly practice and travel together. This created a unique dynamic and comradery, and our team truly felt like a family. Head Coach Syd Fadner has a style of leadership that is at once both quiet and motivating (Syd doesn’t need a whistle!). She inspired each of us to practice longer and harder, and taught us to believe in our ability to win, even if our opponent was an Olympian (as many were). While captain of the team my junior year, I had the pleasure of accepting the sword that served as the New England Championship trophy for the team, and I am proud that it will always be part of BC’s collection of accolades. Thank you for the article and pictures. They brought back a flood of great memories!

I am very pleased to see how far Boston College Fencing has come, in a large part due to the efforts of coach Syd Fadner. My wife Lori and I were members of the first team in 1991 & 1992. Fencing had been a club sport, and Syd has transformed it into a true team. Syd has built a competitive team that has placed multiple fencers into the NCAA finals on multiple weapons, and BC’s first Rhodes Scholar was a member of the fencing team. Syd is one of the longest tenured coaches at Boston College, and I’d suspect one of very few women to be coaching a men’s division 1 team. I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Syd for her consistent years of effort supporting Boston College’s student athletes, and I’d like to thank BC Magazine for the great article!

Tom Henault, BC class of 1992