Championship Battles Await as Morgan Heads to NCAAs

In fencing, the difference between winning and losing can be measured in millimeters. One move in the wrong direction can lead to a touch or point. Winning requires near-perfection, a syncing of the mind and body to move to exactly the right spot at exactly the right time.

This year, that's exactly what Boston College's Ella Morgan is doing. One of the Eagles' top fencers, she earned the right to compete this week at the NCAA Championships in the epee discipline at Penn State, beginning on Thursday.

"It feels fantastic," Morgan said. "It's something I've been working for since I came to BC. I had come here with that goal in mind, and to make it (this far), especially since it's my senior year, it feels fantastic to be going out with a bang, so to speak."

Morgan earned the right to compete at the national championships by virtue of her season-long performance. She helped the Eagles to a fourth place finish in the team portion of the ACC Championships, going 5-4 in her discipline with four wins combined over Duke and North Carolina. At the NCAA Northeast Regional, she seeded 10th and finished 14th. Her performance earned her one of nine Northeast spots and only four ACC competitors in the 24-person field in Pennsylvania.

It's the culmination of a career that began in the foil discipline but eventually evolved. "It's really interesting because when I started epee, I hated it," Morgan said. "I started as a foil fencer, which is what the majority of people start out at. But then I moved (to Colorado) and the only fencing club near me was epee, so I was forced to love it. Now I've fully embraced it."

Morgan's career began on the bench with the Eagles back in 2014-2015. She had been injured during her senior year of high school and entered BC on the sidelines. During that season, all three women's epeeists - Olivia Adragna, Renee Bichette and Cara Hall - advanced to the final round in the NCAA Northeast Regional, creating an environment where Morgan was unable to compete because of the depth and talent surrounding her.

"When I came to BC, we had such a strong women's team that I was an alternate for my freshman year," she said. "(Head coach Syd Fadner) fenced me as much as she could, but I mainly sat on the bench. To go from that to my senior year, where I'm going to nationals, was huge."

It's a credit to BC's athletic development process. High school athletes can typically succeed in any sport based on their natural talent, but the ability to compete and win in college is a credit to how the coaching staff harnesses and refines them.

"I think a lot of it was physical training and coaching," Morgan said of her improvements. "But there was also a lot of mental development from having the coach and team behind me. I was able to come into my own because of that atmosphere. A lot was working out outside of fencing. I had in high school but not as much. So I learned a lot from lifting or working on footwork. I also learned how to take care of myself. Fencing is really hard on your body and in high school, I would fence through them regardless. I think one of the biggest things was learning to rest so I could be in the best shape to compete."

That ability to compete at a high level will be required at the National Championships. Fencers compete in a round-robin of five-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places. It means a grueling weekend of matches in a discipline that places a different toll on a person's physical attributes.

"There's a difference between epee and the other two (disciplines)," Morgan said. "The other two disciplines have 'right of way,' so there's essentially a turn system, and epee doesn't. It's more realistic because the other person gets a touch if you get hit, regardless of the turns. But to me that's higher stakes. You can have double touches since the whole body is target, so you have to have everything technically and physically more prepared. Your opponent can take advantage of every little mistake. That's huge for me because everything has to work together perfectly. There's a much higher risk."

It's that high stakes competition that she hopes will carry her to glory at the ultra-competitive national field. Each fencer has their own style and approach, which means it's just as important to draw off previous experience as it is scouting and watching while recovering between matches.

"I faced a lot of good fencers this year," she said. "So while it's a big, important event, it's nothing that special because I've been doing it all season. It's just all in one day instead of having them all spread out. I've also fenced nationally as well as at BC, so I've already fenced a lot of the people I'll see, whether it's at BC or at the Division I national level. In epee, anyone can beat anyone, so it's a reminder that I've done this before."

The NCAA Championships kick off on Thursday at Penn State. The semifinal and final rounds will be televised on ESPN3 and with the WatchESPN app on mobile devices. They will be reaired with highlights on ESPNU at 1 p.m. on April 4. For Morgan, it's the end of the college road, but it's simply not the end.

"I will need to take a little time off (after this season) to let some injuries heal, but after that, I want it to be part of my life," she said. "I've qualified for national championships outside of NCAA, so I hope to push forward into that this summer. I was debating whether I was going to be done with the sport after college because it's been a long journey with injuries. This isn't a sport that you're ever going to make a living at, but I think this season reminded me how much I love this sport. I'm not quite ready to say good bye yet."

Championship Battles Await as Morgan Heads to NCAAs

Players Mentioned

Renee Bichette

Ella Morgan

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