Princeton University Athletics
Fencer Maya Lawrence '02 wins ipie title at Pan Am Games
October 15, 1999 | Women's Fencing
Oct. 15, 1999
PORT ALEGRE, BRAZIL - Sophomore fencer Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.) captured the ?p?e title at the Pan Am Games yesterday in Port Alegre, Brazil. Lawrence was the sole representative for the United States for her weapon and age category and emerged from a field of 18 competitors, each from a different country, to win the event.
"She practiced all summer, twice a week." Says head coach Michel Sebastiani. "I put her on a daily running program with weight training. She took lessons and worked on the psychology of the sport, but we were just preparing for the season. We didn't know about Brazil."
Lawrence adds the Pan Am Games victory to her already impressive resum?, which includes the 1999 Junior Olympics national championship, the 1999 Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) championship and a first-place finish at the 1999 NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals. She was also a finalist at the 1999 USFA national championship and placed sixth at the 1999 U.S. Senior Open.
In her freshman year at Princeton, Lawrence posted a 39-8 record in dual-match competition for the Ivy League champion women's fencing squad. She earned second-team All-Ivy recognition and was an honorable mention All-America with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA championships.
"When school started, about a month ago," Sebastiani says, "I received the word from the Pan Am Games committee. We had four weeks to prepare, but our work paid off.
"She's just at the beginning, I hope, of a great career."