As an energetic child, senior Grace Ker picked up fencing in fourth grade alongside dancing. However, after six months of handling both sports, Ker decided to only continue with fencing. Since then, Ker has competed in multiple tournaments and even went on to win the Division I-A Women’s Sabre in the 2024 United States of America Fencing Summer Nationals for Cardinal Fencing Club. Recently, Ker has committed to Stanford University for Division I fencing.
Ker first began the sport with the foil style: one of the three main fencing styles which requires striking with the blade’s tip on the opponent’s torso. However, Ker swapped to the sabre form, which includes aggressive slashes and thrusts.
“I’m an adrenaline junkie,” Ker said. “Sabre’s fast-paced nature matched my style. A lot of fencers overanalyze their opponent, but for me, I just go in and give it all I’ve got.”
Ker participated in her first competition in April 2017, with only nine people in the competition. Although she was eliminated early on, Ker was happy to have participated, enjoying the pink participation medal that the competition handed out. Since then, Ker has been to numerous events, traveling to multiple European countries to participate in fencing world cups. She wasn’t able to tour these international countries though, only going to fencing competitions. Despite constantly traveling to the competitions, Ker grew steadily as a fencer.
“In the nine years that I’ve known Grace, she’s had nothing but constant improvement,” Cardinal Fencing Club head coach George Pogosov said. “In real life, she is a very sweet girl; when she fences, she’s very willing to take risks, but the risks are smart and they work out.”
Still, balancing school and the sport has been difficult. In particular, Ker found it tough to travel for competitions. Although she would usually only miss three days of school for a competition, she usually got sick and thus would be unable to attend school for an extended period. However, through all the difficulties, Ker learned valuable lessons in communicating with teachers — letting them know in advance which days she’d miss and the work she would have to make up. Her adaptability not only aids her in her fencing journey but also her academics.
“I think one of Ker’s greatest talents is her resilience,” senior Preston Kao said. “She has a very strong mentality and she’s willing to adapt to a lot of challenges. Although she’s able to push herself to try new things, she also prioritizes really well and that’s how she’s able to succeed.”
When deciding on schools, Ker was stuck between the choice of Northwestern University and Stanford University. Ker appreciated the all-girls team of Northwestern, which also recruited internationally, making the team very diverse. During her visit to Northwestern, Ker was almost convinced to commit by the coach; however, upon visiting Stanford, Ker was persuaded by the school’s academic focus, and although its team culture differed from Northwestern’s, Ker still found the team to be very enticing.
“One of the biggest factors in choosing Stanford was the food,” Ker said. “Alongside the fact that Stanford is only 30 minutes away from home. During my visit I was allowed to sit in on the classes and meet the team; I enjoyed the experience.”
At Stanford, Ker wants to help the team win more National Collegiate Athletics Association titles for the school and eventually become team captain. Despite her fencing goals, Ker isn’t sure what field she wants to pursue in college. However, she hopes that she will come to a decision when she begins fencing while simultaneously enjoying her college experience.
“I want to especially thank my coaches George Pogosov, Grigory Kiriyenko and David Bording for helping me so much on my fencing journey; my teammates at Cardinal Fencing Club for their endless support during competitions and my friends for helping me not take things too seriously,” Ker said. “Finally, I want to thank my parents — who have always been there to support me — for coming with me to world cups and other competitions, driving me to practice four times a week and everything else they do for me. All of them got me to where I am.”
