By Bruce Gillman
Head Coach

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (January 27, 2008) -- At the Northeast Conference Fencing Dual Matches hosted by Boston College, Vassar's Women's Fencing Team had a solid outing. The Brewers fenced six schools and went 2-4 at the event, but we were able to beat Sacred Heart for the first time this season and were competitive in every match.

Outstanding fencers on the day for the Vassar Women's Fencing Team were Sophie Courser (freshman epee 14-3), Molly Soiffer (sophomore epee 10-6), Julie Carlsen (freshman sabre 11-7), Erica Seigneur (junior sabre 10-5), and Jackie Kory (freshman foil 12-6).

Round 1 – Vassar 12 – MIT 15

This match was much closer than our loss to MIT last season. Sabre managed a 5-4 squad victory and was close to winning a couple more. Epee was 4-5 and foil only 3-6, but there were at least 5 bouts in the dual match that were lost 4-5. Epee fencer Sophie Courser was 3-0 in this round.

Round 2 – Vassar 18 – Sacred Heart 9

Vassar foil again soundly beat Sacred Heart 7-2, just as they did at our home match in November with Jackie Kory going 3-0 and Melissa Lee and Kristina Poznan both going 2-1. The big difference this time were sabre and epee results. Erica Seigneur was brilliant in a 3-0 outing against a tough Sacred Heart squad. In epee, both Sophie Courser and Molly Soiffer (recently returned from JYA) were also perfect at 3-0. Sabre went 5-4 and epee 6-3.

Round 3 – Vassar 21 – Smith College 6

Smith is an important club program, which usualy hosts The Big One at the beginning of the fencing season and with host the US Collegiate Club Tean Nationals this year. We have fenced then each year at New England Championships, but this is the first time we have faced them in a dual match. Vassar women's foil was undefeated at 9-0. Our sabre and epee squads both went 6-3.

Round 4 – Vassar 11 – Brown 16

Brown has a tough epee squad every year and this one was no different. We were only able to manage 3-6 against them. In foil, Jackie Kory was able to steal two wins, but the rest of the squad wasn't as fortunate going 3-6 overall. In sabre, both Julie Carlsen and Erica Seigneur were hot at 2-1 each. The squad managed at 5-4 victory.

Round 5 – Vassar 10 – Brandeis 17

This was the best finish that we have had against Brandeis in a while. Their foil squad is always very strong. We were only able to manage a 2-7 record against them. But sabre and epee were much closer at 4-5 each. Julie Carlsen managed a 2-1 finish in sabre and Sophie Courser was undefeated at 3-0 against a strong Brandeis squad.

Round 6 – Vassar 12 – Boston College 15

This one was close! We actually had two squad victories (epee 5-4 and sabre 6-3), but that did not translate into a team victory because foil was only able to go 1-8. BC has a strong foil squad and our foilists were both overmatched and exhausted after a long day. In Sabre Erica Seigneur went 3-0 and Julie Carlsen 2-1 in this round. Epeeists Molly Soiffer (3-0) and Sophie Courser (2-1) were also quite impressive.

The next match for the Vassar Women's fencing team will be at Wellesley on Saturda, Februray 9 against Wellesley, Dartmouth, Tufts, Boston University, UNH, and UMass.