SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Lindsey Lohan, a phone book and a family rule. St. Francis senior Gabby Zegers definitely came across fencing in a non-traditional way. But eight years later, she is devoted to the sport and is going to Duke to join their nationally-ranked program on scholarship.

“I started it was a little luck,’ said Zegers. “ I had played softball and needed to find a sport. There is a rule in my house that you must have a sport you practiced once a week. In the fourth grade, I looked in a phone book and found fencing. I had seen it on the Parent Trap (featuring Lohan) and told my Mom I wanted to do fencing. After I started, I could not stop. I loved it.”

Zegers specializes in saber, one of the three disciplines in the sport with each sporting its own weapon and rules. In saber, she is looking at scoring on a target area with a slashing motion from the waste up, including the left arm down to you wrist and the wrist on right arm. She describes it as a ‘physical chess game’ with points awarded for various moves.

“I am very happy I found the sport,” said Zegers. “It has taught me a lot and I really enjoy it. I have a lot of good memories from it and good lessons I have learned thru competing. It is very tight and supportive community.”

While fencing checked off a requirement from her parents, Zegers was happy to find out it could also be an avenue to college or at least an activity at one.

“I have been hearing from coaches about college teams and fencing is a very unique opportunity to compete in,” said Zegers. “We looked at the schools and I wanted to go to a school with a good Global Health program, a faith-based connection and one that allowed me to fence. Duke filled out all of the things I was looking for and it felt like home when I visited the campus.”

Zegers will join a Duke program coached by Alex Beguinet, who has mentored three NCAA Champions and five All-American while sending over 100 participants to the NCAA Championships over his 31 years at the helm of the program.

“I am really looking forward to joining the program,” said Zegers. “The fencers I have met are very nice and they have been very welcoming. They are very high caliber. There is going to be a lot of good opportunities and it is a competitive team with great coaches.”

Since finding the sport, Zegers has engulfed herself in and she has been joined by her younger sister Anneke, a sophomore at SF.

“It is always really fun and I love doing competitions with her,” said the eldest sibling. “I love watching her fence and we give each other advice.”

Zegers trains locally at the Premier Fencing Academy in Carmichael and is coached by Kristiyan Hristov.

“They have really good coaches and we have two hour practices four days a week, as well Friday night fencing and additional lessons,” said Zegers.

She lists her top accomplishments as finishing 37th at the Cadet World Cup in Poland in 2014.  She also earned a national ranking by finishing third at a regional competition in Seattle, Wash.

But her biggest accomplishment might be Duke.

“Just because it is Duke and it seems like the school I have been looking for all this time,” said Zegers. “I am out of my mind excited.”

Zegers will sign a National Letter-of-Intent sometime next week. First, she will be spending her Spring Break on a mission trip to Mexico with her church, helping run a Vacation Bible School.