Feb. 13, 2009
Each week throughout the season, TarHeelBlue.com will spotlight several UNC fencing seniors in the Friday Fencing Feature. Read on for more on Bobby Ziechmann and check back next Friday for a new feature.
Bobby Ziechmann, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., is in his fourth year on the team and is a co-captain of the men's sabre squad. A German and exercise and sport science double major, he participates in the Carolina Leadership Academy Veteran Leaders Program and lists hiking among his favorite pastimes.
TarHeelBlue.com interview by Lee Becker, UNC Athletic Communications Student Assistant
TarHeelBlue.com: What's your favorite thing about being a member of the Carolina fencing team?
Bobby Ziechmann: I enjoy competing alongside my teammates, especially those that have been on the team with me for all four years and my brother (Kevin Ziechmann), with whom I have fenced for my entire fencing career.
THB: What has been your favorite fencing moment at UNC?
Ziechmann: My freshman year, we upset Penn at home 14-13. They were a team that, if I remember correctly, Carolina fencing had never beaten as a program. That was an exciting victory to take part in.
THB: What's the biggest misconception people have about fencing or something most people don't know about fencing?
Ziechmann: Probably, when you ask any randomly sampled person in the country what fencing is, they'd make some sort of jabbing motion and ask, "It's Zorro, right?" The biggest part of fencing people don't think about is the footwork - fencing isn't any more just jabbing than boxing is running at another guy throwing random punches like a cartoon.
THB: Who is your favorite Carolina athlete of all time and why?
Ziechmann: One of my teammates,
Will Randolph, who just graduated halfway through this school year (and season) is my favorite Carolina athlete of all time. He definitely is or was an example of what Carolina athletics is all about: he was a hard worker, a team player, and a fierce competitor.
THB: What's the most challenging thing about being a collegiate student-athlete?
Ziechmann: Fencing is a huge time commitment, so budgeting my time and keeping up with my schoolwork has been probably the biggest challenge.
THB: What has been your favorite class at Carolina and why did you like it?
Ziechmann: I took a class on Old Norse, which basically covered the Vikings and the sagas of Iceland in their original language. I guess I just liked the stories and the way in which they were told.
THB: What's your favorite memory of your time as a Carolina student?
Ziechmann: I don't think I could pick only one memory, honestly.
THB: What is your favorite thing about being a student at UNC?
Ziechmann: I like being at a top school in academics in athletics.
THB: Why did you choose to attend UNC?
Ziechmann: Carolina was and is a great value for me, since I am from Charlotte. Also, Carolina has fencing.
THB: What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
Ziechmann: In 10 years, I hope to have attained a master's in athletic training and be working in that field. Of course, I see myself remaining involved in fencing, hopefully at a competitive level.
THB: What's it like having a younger brother on the fencing team?
Ziechmann: I wasn't sure how much I liked fencing when I first started. A couple weeks in, I began to understand what was going on and enjoy fencing, and Kevin came to practice. I had been a little irked, because I wanted to claim fencing as my activity in a big brother kind of way. I got over that pretty quickly, and I know now, of course, that I wouldn't enjoy the sport nearly as much if Kevin didn't fence. Getting to fence on a team with my brother will probably be one of the things I miss most when I graduate.
THB: What specifically in exercise and sport science interests you?
Ziechmann: I hope to make a career out of EXSS, and I will be applying for a master's in athletic training. I had thought that I would like to work with computers, specifically software and web 2.0, but after working at an internship this past summer I realized I wanted to do something more active. Remaining involved in sports to some degree seemed natural to me.
THB: What interests you in German language and culture?
Ziechmann: The area of history that interests me the most is probably Europe in the 19th century. One way of looking at the influence of that era could be summed up with a class title from Carolina's German department: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud.
