Samantha Marsee Katie Chan interview on leaving Cornell fencing

In the Samantha Marsee Katie Chan interview, the Cornell University fencing captain said she will graduate early and will not finish her final season. Marsee also told Chan that Cornell’s team environment renewed her love of fencing, and described how she handles a loss when a teammate still needs her support.

Why is Samantha Marsee leaving Cornell fencing before her final season?

Samantha Marsee is leaving Cornell fencing because she discovered she was closer to graduating than she thought. She plans to finish her remaining history class online during the winter, which means she will not be at Cornell to complete the fencing season, despite serving as a team captain.

The change was not a long-standing plan. Marsee said she made the decision roughly a month before speaking with Chan. She had met with her adviser to check whether she could graduate in the spring, only to learn that she had already completed her major and needed just one more class.

That leaves her with mixed feelings about the end of college fencing. She said she was sad that she could not finish the season and was trying to savor her remaining time in Ithaca. The discovery changed not only her academic schedule but also the amount of time she expected to have with her Cornell teammates.

What did Samantha Marsee do with Team USA and at Cornell?

Samantha Marsee said she has fenced since 2016, progressing through local, regional, national and international competition. In high school, she represented Team USA at World Cups and competed at the Junior Olympics; at Cornell, she reached NCAA competition in two consecutive years.

Team USA World Cups and the Junior Olympics

Marsee remembers one high-school World Cup result as among her best, though she was unsure of her exact placing when she discussed it. She also estimated that she fenced at the Junior Olympics for four or five consecutive years. She did not claim a particular result there; the experience of making the event mattered to her.

Two NCAA appearances at Cornell

College brought a different challenge at the Division I level. Marsee said she competed at NCAA in two successive years and was proud to have qualified, even though she felt she did not perform well either time. She will not make another appearance during the season she is leaving, but said she valued having been in that competitive setting.

How did Cornell change Samantha Marsee’s approach to team fencing?

Samantha Marsee said Cornell’s team environment brought back her love of fencing. After years of treating competition primarily as an individual contest, she found that training and competing alongside teammates made her want to work harder and pay attention to the team’s result, not just her own.

From individual opponents to Cornell teammates

That adjustment was especially clear with Isabella, whom Marsee had competed against while growing up. As a high-school opponent, Isabella was not someone Marsee would necessarily have rooted for. At Cornell, Marsee came to see cheering for her and helping her fence as part of the job.

Marsee described individual competition as requiring a focus on what helps her own performance. Team fencing asks her to balance those needs against what others need in the moment. She said the change can be difficult for athletes who spent years competing against the same people who later become their teammates.

Supporting Isabella after a loss

Being a captain does not make that balance automatic. Marsee said that if she loses while Isabella is still fencing, she tries to look at the situation plainly: her bout is over, and her teammate may benefit from cheering or coaching. She can return later to how she feels and what she might improve. If she needs an immediate moment to collect herself, she takes one.

How does Samantha Marsee prepare mentally for sabre bouts?

Samantha Marsee tries to reset after a bad point by breathing, acknowledging what happened and deciding what to change next. Before competing, she prefers upbeat music, conversation and jokes with teammates to an intensely serious routine; she said putting too much pressure on herself does not help.

Resetting between fast points

Marsee said recovering from mistakes remains something she works on. Sabre moves quickly, making it easy for frustration to carry into the next point. She tries to let her emotions settle, identify something useful from the previous exchange and avoid treating a lost point as a judgment on herself.

That perspective takes effort because of the time athletes invest in training. Marsee said she reminds herself that mistakes and losses are normal, even after months or years of preparation. Keeping the sport in perspective helps her move on to the next action.

Keeping the pre-competition routine light

Before a bout, Marsee may listen to energetic music, talk with teammates, have a snack and drink water. She wants to compete as herself rather than force a more severe persona. If her energy runs too high, she said she can sit down and settle herself before fencing.

What advice did Samantha Marsee give young athletes?

Samantha Marsee advised young athletes to train hard and commit to a sport they love without allowing its results to define them. She encouraged them to make mistakes, enjoy exercise and friendships, and remember that winning or losing does not determine their worth outside competition.

Marsee did not present fun and effort as opposites. She urged young athletes to put in the hours while remembering why they started. Trying something new and making friends can matter alongside competitive goals, and an athlete’s life contains more than a single result.

Her clearest message about handling those results was:

the world will continue spinning, whether you win or you lose.

She said the advice may feel different depending on a young athlete’s level of competition. Her central point was that success or failure in sport should not become their entire measure of themselves.

Where were Samantha Marsee’s favorite fencing trips?

Samantha Marsee chose a trip to France with her father as her favorite place she had fenced. For a favorite competition, she picked a North American Cup in Virginia: she felt she performed well, and the event let her see old friends at the first such competition after COVID.

Traveling in France with her father

Marsee remembered the scenery as well as the fencing on her trip to France. Her father drove them around, and they were able to sightsee before the competition. Those shared experiences made the destination stand out from other places she had visited to fence.

Seeing friends at a Virginia North American Cup

The Virginia event stood out for different reasons. Marsee associated it with both her performance and the chance to reconnect with friends she had not seen during the COVID interruption. The journey home was less enjoyable: she recalled repeated missed flights.

What did Samantha Marsee say about fencing meals and team-event wins?

Samantha Marsee said she sometimes skips a pre-competition meal, but when she eats, she may have eggs, a bagel and coffee. After competing, she prefers something hearty from CAVA or Chipotle. She also called a team-event victory an underrated fencing experience, while noting she has not had one herself.

Food before and after competition

Her food choices are flexible rather than a fixed ritual. Alongside coffee, Marsee named beef sticks, extra-cheddar Goldfish, white-cheddar Cheez-It crackers and crunchy green grapes among the snacks she likes for a road trip.

Why a team-event win appeals to her

Marsee contrasted Cornell contests, in which individual bout victories contribute to a team total, with the team format she described at North American Cups. In that format, teammates add points within a shared bout and the first side to 45 wins. She said celebrating a win earned together would be particularly fun.

Asked what she considered overrated, she chose some trick points: they can be entertaining, but she thinks there are often more efficient ways to score. Her answers returned to the same distinction she drew throughout the conversation—what helps in a bout, and what makes fencing enjoyable with other people.