Duke
F
BY BRETT ARESCO, DUKE
encer Allison Putterman made the NCAA tournament last year as a first-year. The only female fencer to make the tournament, Putterman had the highest winning percentage on the foil squad with a mark of 41-20. She has been to the Junior Olympics multiple times and made it onto the ACC Academic Honor Roll last year. So, what makes Allison so successful? Rival sat down with the rising star to discuss the tournament, family support and Kanye West.
When did you begin fencing competitively?
Probably when I was 12 years old. I started when I was nine, just taking lessons and stuff, and then started getting into competitions a couple years later.
Why foil (over epee or saber)?
I don’t know, that was just the weapon I started with, and I’m too short for epee. I like the style, I think it’s graceful. I danced when I was younger and it’s kind of like that. A lot of people have told me that while I fence I look like a dancer. Saber is very violent in a different way, but I like foil.
Why did you choose Duke?
Both my dad and my brother went here, so initially I thought that I didn’t want to go to Duke at all because I want to make my own path ... I realized there’s no place like Duke because of the academics and the extracurriculars and athletics. I really liked the fencing program also and our coach, and I think it’s just a good balance of everything for a college education.
What are your gameday superstitions?
I try not to have superstitions but by not trying, I do have superstitions. Wearing two hair ties on my wrist, wearing a plain white t-shirt. I used to wear just the same t-shirt but last year I switched to just a plain white t-shirt to make it kind of neutral.
What was it like going to the NCAA tournament last year as a first-year?
It was scary. I was the only girl from the team, and the boys weren’t competing then. It was just me by myself with my parents and my coach, which is a bit nerve racking because there was no one to warm up with and not many people to cheer me on. It’s a good experience ... to be able to block other things out and concentrate and do things on your own.
What was it like going to the Junior Olympics?
That’s extremely independent, also. It’s very tense because you really want to do well and sometimes it’s disappointing when you don’t do as well as you want to, but it gives you motivation to work harder for the next time. It’s cool, not as cool as other people think it might be. In the fencing world there are a lot of national competitions. You have Junior Olympics, you have Nationals, and other competitions to go through at the end of the year.
What athletes, in fencing or other sports, do you truly admire?
I admire Becca Ward a lot; she’s on the fencing team. For an Olympic athlete she’s very down to Earth and not stuck up as many Olympic athletes would be, especially at such a young age. I admire her because she makes fencing look so effortless and so beautiful and I wish that I could do that. I want to work to be able to do that. And she has such motivation; that’s a good quality to always have.
Even though you’re in an individual sport, do you still feel like you’re pretty close with your teammates here?
Extremely close. You spend so much time with them at practice and when we travel, you spend eight hours on the bus with them. There was always someone there, and a lot of people would gather around and just cheer you on. You build a lot of respect and you learn a lot about other people just by sitting with them and talking with them in that environment.
What is your favorite non-fencing sport to play?
Either European handball, or… I haven’t played another sport in so long except for in gym class. I always really wanted to play ice hockey but my parents wouldn’t let me because they said I’d be used as the puck instead of a player. But my brother plays ice hockey so I always enjoy playing with him.
What non-athletes do you really admire?
My parents and my brother. My parents came to every single meet last year. They flew to Chicago to see me.
nt from Drew University at the Penn State University duals last spring. April 2009 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 33