NEW YORK, N.Y. – Four members of the Vassar women's fencing team were named all-conference following the Brewers' third-place performance at Sunday's Eastern Women's Fencing Conference (EWFC) Championship held at Hunter College. Johns Hopkins won the overall team title, going 7-0.
Sophomore Zoe Tolbert (Olympia, WA) earned foil first-team honors, while Chloe Chinnadurai (Denville, NJ) and Rosie Parker (Portland, OR) picked up first-team epee honors. Sophomore Tori Lubin (Westport, CT) was also selected to foil second team.
Vassar won their first four matches, defeating Haverford (18-9), Yeshiva (27-0), CCNY (22-5), and Hunter (26-1). The Brewers then fell to second-place finisher Stevens, 8-19 before bouncing back with a 15-12 victory over Drew. In the final round, Vassar was bested 7-20 by Johns Hopkins.
Tolbert led the Brewers' foil squad, finishing second overall at 17-2. Lubin posted a 12-7 record, while first-year Jenna Wailbel (Pompton Lakes, NJ) completed the trio and went 14-5. Chinnadurai finished second in the epee standings, tabbing a 14-4 record. Parkers placed close behind at fifth, going 14-4 as well. Freshman Carter Mucha (Brookline, MA) wrapped up the day at 9-9 in epee. Four Brewers comprised the saber team. Freshman Elise Poniatowski (West Roxbury, MA) went 8-10, while Rose Parker (Westfield, NJ) was 6-12. Sophomore Jenna Hutchinson (Omaha, NE) went 3-4, and junior Barsha Saha (Elmhurst, NY) added two victories.
Vassar opened with an 18-9 win against Haverford in the first round. Foil swept the opposition 9-0 behind three 3-0 marks by Lubin, Tolbert, and Waibel. The epee team faced a more challenging opponent but edged the Ford 5-4 with Parker and Chinnadurai picking up two wins each. Mucha fell in a close 4-5 second bout, but then rebounded with a 5-4 win over Sarah Blossom in the finale. At saber, the Brewers were tripped up 4-5 but kept the action close to the final bout. Saha tallied two victories, including a 5-4 win against Maria Yea in her third match, while Poniatowski and Parker had success each.
The Brewers rolled in the next round, sweeping each weapon 9-0 against Yeshiva. The action was a little close in the third round, but the Brewers managed to down CCNY 22-5. Foil and epee went 9-0 again, while the saber group dropped a 4-5 decision to the Beavers. Foil remained in control throughout the bout, and Tolbert kept the clean sweep alive by defeating Yanelle Serrano in a close 5-4 final match. Epee cruised to their sweep, with Mucha highlighting the field with a 15-2 touch ratio. Poniatowski went 3-0 for Vassar saber, while Parker added one victory.
Vassar's foil picked up their fourth straight 9-0 sweep, and epee had their third consecutive in the 26-1 over Hunter the fourth round. Sabre performed well too, winning 8-1. The foil trio tallied a touch ratio of 45-2 against Hunter, with Tolbert, Waibel, and Lubin all maintaining 12-bout winning streaks. At epee, all the Brewers went 3-0 as well. Poniatowski and Hutchinson tacked on three wins apiece, with Hutchinson only being touched twice by her opponents. Parker went 2-1 and tallied a 10-0 touch ratio in her two victories.
Both the foil and epee winning streaks were snapped against Stevens in the fifth round. Foil fell 3-6, with Waibel going 2-1. Tolbert added a close 5-4 victory against Nicole Strezewski. Stevens' epee group slipped by the Brewers 5-4, but Parker and Chinnadurai posted 2-1 marks against the Ducks. Vassar struggled with Stevens' saber squad, falling 1-8. Parker tacked on the sole win, defeating Kian Wissemann 5-3 in the second bout.
In the sixth round, Vassar bounced back by downing Drew 15-12. Foil won 7-2, while epee went 6-3. Sabre lost 2-7 to the Rangers. Tolbert went 3-0 to lead the group. After a 1-4 loss her first bout, Lubin rebounded with two straight bout victories. Waibel picked up two wins, going 5-1 in her first and third bouts. Chinnadurai added three victories at epee, opening with a close 5-4 win over the Rangers. Parker went 2-1, going 5-1 and 3 in her first two bouts. Mucha fell her first two matches but came back with a 3-2 victory in the third bout. At saber, Parker and Poniatowski each had a win.
The Brewers closed the day against eventual champion Johns Hopkins, falling 7-20. Epee lost 4-5, foil dropped 3-6, and the saber was swept 0-9. At epee, Parker battled to two bout victories, while Chinnadurai and Mucha had a win each. Tolbert went 3-0 against the Blue Jays to give the three Vassar foil wins.
In the direct elimination bracket, Vassar had qualifiers in all three weapons. At epee, Chinnadurai defeated Yeshiva's Batsheva Lasky 5-1, while Parker downed Shiwani Bisen from Johns Hopkins 5-3. Mucha fell 2-5 to eventual champions, Shaina Morris. Due to bracket seedings, Chinnadurai and Parker faced off in the second round, with Chinnadurai pulling off the 5-2 win. She then reached the semifinals after beating John Hopkins' Alexandra Szewa 5-4 but lost 1-5 in the title match.
Tolbert and Lubin fought in the foil bracket. Tolbert reached the final round as well, defeating CCNY's April Vargas (5-1), Haverford's Hanna Kopits, and Johns Hopkins' Erika Wong (5-4) to make the finals. Tolbert fought hard, losing a close 4-5 competition to champion Brooke Stanicki from Johns Hopkins. Lubin won her first-round 5-1 but fell 2-5 to Stanicki the next match.
Parker and Poniatowski both competed in the saber bracket but did not manage to get past the first round.
The Brewers are back in action next weekend for the NEIFC Championships held at Walker Field House on Sat. Feb. 22 at 9 a.m.
