FEATURED FENCER October 2011: Ashley Titan
Ashley Titan, while fencing at the KUEFI event in Busan Korea, August, 2011
Ashley Titan, Class of 2012, has just begun her third year as captain of the varsity fencing team. She got her start in fencing soon after her younger brother.
"My brother had started fencing before me, and I thought it was an awesome way to be able to beat him up without getting in trouble. My brother started fencing because it was the next best thing to a chess class. He signed up for a 'physical chess class' thinking it would be big chess pieces, but in reality it was fencing."
Ashley joined a high school fencing team at the age of 12, and remembers being half the height of everyone else. "I was shy but determined. I lost many bouts, but my streak caused me to work harder and sea advice from older teammates."
The determination paid off, and by ninth grade she became the number one starter and the older fencers started coming to her for advice. By tenth, she was nationally ranked. In 2007, she was awarded the title of "All Long Island Fencer," given to the top two high school epee competitors on Long Island.
Arriving at Stanford in the Fall of 2008, Ashley became one of the co-captains just a year later at the beginning of her sophomore year. She has remained a starter each year, and took 2nd Place in the NCAA Western Regional Championships in both 2009 and 2011. She came in 24th at the NCAA Championships earlier this year. She currently has a rating of B'09 in Women's Epee. She was also one of the fencers who attended the Korea-USA Elite Fencing Invitational in August, 2011.
Ashley was the winner of the Elwyn Bugge Fencing Award for the 2010-2011 season. The award is given each year to a Stanford fencer who has demonstrated both exceptional leadership and compassion.
She has two favorite memories about fencing:
"At the Junior Olympics in Hartford, Connecticut, I was maybe 14 or 15, and it was my first Junior event. My coach told me to just go out there and have fun. Well, I made Top 16, and I remember running outside and then it started snowing. It was incredible.
"But I would say my real favorite memory was from high school, my junior year. It was team championships and the county level, and we were fighting for the bronze. I was down 3-0, with 30 seconds to go. I made a comeback, and it was 3-3, and it went into overtime. So this girl tackles me to the ground, don't ask me how, and I tore my labrum and got a bad hip, an injury football players get! I didn't know this at the time. But I couldn't get up, and I was in significant pain. Then all of a sudden I heard the chants: 'MIGHTY TITAN!' The ref came over to me and told me the other girl had been red carded, and I had won. I know it was sort of a cheap way to win, but walking off the strip to the athletics trainer area, and hearing the entire building shouting 'MIGHTY TITAN' was a great feeling. I went on crutches to receive my award at the end of the day, and the entire gym chanted again."
Ashley is looking forward to this upcoming season. "I hope to get Top 8 in NCAAs this year." She also hopes to be able to attend the Maccabi Games in 2013. Currently finishing her degree in Philosophy, she plans to attend Mt. Sinai School of Medicine after graduating Stanford.
"I want to eventually do an Ironman, too. And . . . I want to change the world!"
Original Article: http://www.stanfordfencingassociation.com/ff7.html