FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Emily Cross '08, Fencing

She helped bring home the women’s first ever Ivy League title, contributed to the dual men’s and women’s IFA titles, swept the 2005 NCAA tournament to leave with the national title to her name, and capped off her season with a gold at the under-20 Junior World Championships.

You could say freshman fencer Emily Cross is simply another class of athlete.

“She is one of those rare breeds that have it all,” Crimson coach Peter Brand said. “In terms of character, work ethic and talent, everything she has is what you look for. She’s rare, even for Harvard.”

And while Harvard’s fencing program has improved in the past few years due to more serious and successful recruiting, Brand notes that Harvard has never seen a fencer of Cross’s caliber.

“You only get one of those [star athletes] every hundred years or so, and we are very fortunate to have her here,” Brand said. “It will be a very long time before we see something like that again.”

Cross’s season was highlighted by individual wins in her specialty—the foil event.

The freshman started her season off strong by defeating defending NCAA champion Alycia Kryczalo from Notre Dame at the Penn State Invite. Her momentum then picked up as she continued dominating with wins over schools such as Tufts, UNC, Brown, Duke, and long-time rival Columbia.

Cross was a consistent force, helping secure the Ivy League title and the dual IFA title, where she took second in the foil competition.

But the accomplishments did not end there. Cross ended her freshman collegiate season with a win in the foil event at the NCAA competition. Her victory marks the first time a Harvard woman fencer has ever captured the national title, and only the fifth time an Ivy League woman has done so.

A few weeks after competing at the NCAA tournament and completing her collegiate season, Cross traveled to Austria where she fenced the best in the world at the under-20 Junior World Championships. Following in the pattern of her season, Cross captured the gold in the foil—her second individual win at the competition.

Looking back on her season, Cross noted that her successes were building blocks on one another.

“World Championships is a level above NCAAs,” she said. “Winning at NCAAs built up my confidence a lot going into World Championships.”

So what then distinguishes this rookie of the year from the field of other fencers?

“Her primary strength is her work ethic and determination,” Brand said. “She’s not the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen, but she’s the most determined person I’ve ever known.”

And while Cross has achieved such individual accomplishments this year, she remains modest and highlights the team victory at Ivies as one of the biggest successes of the year.

“It was a really huge achievement and I was really happy to be a part of it. It was so much fun being there for the whole experience,” Cross said.

Co-captain Chloe Stinetorf also notes Emily’s strength as a teammate.

“She’s a really big team player,” Stinetorf said. “She doesn’t make her own personal successes what it’s about. When she’s with the team, it’s about the team.”

Cross admits that prior to coming to Harvard, she was anxious as to whether or not she would get the amount of practice time she needed. Despite not putting in as many hours as she has in the past, however, the team atmosphere and training style has compensated for the loss in time and also contributed greatly to her success.

“I didn’t practice as much as I did at home, but practice is a lot more motivating when it’s with a lot of people you have fun with and get along with,” Cross said. “Everyone is working towards the same goals, and everyone works harder in a more concentrated period of time.”

With much more at stake for next year’s season and seemingly higher pressures for Cross in the years to come, she remains calm.

“It’s a whole new season next year,” said Cross. “There’s another Ivy League, IFA, and NCAA title for the team to win. We start over with a new slate. I just want to keep on doing what I’m doing and see how it works out.”

Brand remains confident that if she does continue to do what she has been doing, her future will be bright.

“There is no doubt that she will remain the best collegiate fencer in the country,” he said. “If she does what she did this year over the next three years, she’ll make the 2008 Olympic team.”

But for now, this rookie will soon say goodbye to the junior circuit and focus on her collegiate and senior career, where, at least on paper, she remains one of the best fencers in the United States on both levels—a rare breed, indeed.

—Staff writer Samantha A. Papadakis can be reached at spapadak@fas.harvard.edu.