While many student athletes compete in sports at a local level, junior Andre Cornman recently returned from an international fencing competition where he represented the United States and competed against top-ranked world fencers.
Cornman, who is currently ranked 17th in the United States among fencers under 17, is a part of Team USA, which consists of the top 20 fencers in America in that age group. With Team USA, Cornman travels the globe to compete against the top-ranked fencers in the world. He recently returned from competitions in Bratislava, Slovakia and Leipzig, Germany. In Germany, he placed 15th out of nearly 200 fencers competing.
Cornman said he likes the sport because of its independent nature, and because it fits his introverted personality.
“I like that it’s completely individual, so you don’t have to think about other people,” Cornman said. “If you’re not doing well, you can see what you’re doing wrong, and you don’t have to worry about what other people are doing wrong.”
He also said that unlike other sports that mainly require strength or speed, a large part of fencing requires intelligence and strategy.
“You can’t fence without thinking,” Cornman said. “Most people who do it are intellectual—they like to think.” Cornman said he started fencing at an older age than most other fencers on Team USA.
“Most kids start at eight years old, and I started at 13, which is pretty late, so I had a lot of catching up to do,” Cornman said. “Usually they don’t accept people at 13—that’s kind of too late to start. But since I’m left-handed, it gives me a slight advantage.”
Cornman said he first got into the sport when a friend from school recommended it to him.
“I knew a few people who did it and they really liked it,” Cornman said. “And it’s kind of an unusual sport, so I thought I’d try it.”
Cornman trains four times a week for two to three hours at M-Team in San Francisco. He practices with other nationally-ranked and Olympic fencers, as well as three-time Olympian maestro Greg Massialas.
Cornman said that when he first started at M-Team, he was already training with top-ranked fencers.
“I had just started, and there were people on my team who were ranked fifth in the country,” Cornman said. “It was tough trying to get up to their level.”
Cornman went from being a complete beginner to being ranked 17th in the nation in less than three years.
According to Cornman, the commitment to fencing comes with a price. Cornman said that he often misses school to compete in these tournaments, so he has to budget his time very carefully, especially since he is enrolled in several AP classes.
Cornman said he hopes to compete at the Division I university level.
Prior to fencing, Cornman ski raced and held a Top 10 rank in the Tahoe League, played Upper House and Select soccer, and earned a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo.
