FAIRFIELD, CT – The Vassar women's fencing team wrapped up the fall semester at Sunday's Sacred Heart Multi-Meet. The Brewers faced a challenging field comprised mainly Division I teams but had strong individual performances.
The Brewers faced Harvard in the first round, falling 3-24 to the Crimson. While the Vassar epee group fell 0-9 to the Crimson, senior Rose Parker (Portland, OR) and first-year Naomi Hirsch (Melrose Park, PA) recorded close 4-5 bouts against Harvard's Greta Candreva, who is a member of the U.S. Team. Vassar fell 0-9 at foil, but saber went 3-6 due to forfeits by Harvard.
Vassar rebounded in the second round by defeating host Sacred Heart 15-12 behind 7-2 foil and epee performances. At foil, seniors Zoe Tolbert (Olympia, WA) and Tori Lubin (Westport, CT) went 3-0. Tolbert was dominant against the Pioneers, winning her first two bouts 5-1 and then the third 5-2. Lubin's matches were slightly closer, but she edged Jenna Jacinto 3-2 and then went 5-3 and 5-1. Hunter Grogan (Lakewood, CO) added a 5-2 victory against Brianne Lynch. First-year, Olivia Barnes (Bend, OR) opened the epee round with a 5-1 win over Sacred Heart's Rosa Hernandez and then was 5-1 against Grace Hand to go 2-0. Parker bounced back after losing in the first bout to win 4-3 and then 5-2. Hirsch also went 2-1 in the round, while first-year Danielle Golden subbed in to win 5-4 against Chloe Mok. The saber group lost 1-8, and first-year Kira Wheeler (New Paltz, NY) managed the sole win at 5-2 against Sacred Heart's Emma Turner.
NJIT won 15-12 in the third round, with the Brewers gaining the 7-2 advantage at saber due to some Highlander's forfeits. Tolbert went 2-1 after winning 5-4 and 5-0. Lubin added a 5-1 victory against NJIT, and Grogan recorded a 5-3 mark to earn a win. At epee, Vassar dropped a 1-8 decision, and Parker was the lone win at 5-3 in the second bout.
The Brewers faced NYU in the fourth round and lost 6-21. NYU swept the saber at 9-0 while winning 5-4 at epee and 7-2 in foil. Barnes had a steady performance, going 2-1 against the Violets. She won the first bout 5-4 over Jillian Yao and then closed out with a 5-3 victory against Ally Hu. Golden won the third bout 5-3 against Sara Tong, and Addy Xie (Falmouth, MA) subbed to win 5-3 over Gabi Yucobi. Tolbert earned the only two foil wins by defeating NYU 5-3 in the first and second bouts.
It was another tough round to follow when Vassar was tripped up 2-25 by Princeton. The Vassar saber and epee squads were swept 0-9, while foil fell 2-7. In the first bout, Lubin earned a 5-2 victory, and Tolbert defeated the Tigers 5-1 in the second.
Penn State took the sixth with a 16-11 score, but the Brewers stayed close in the competition. Saber lost 4-5 to an undersized Penn State squad, with Wheeler winning 5-1 in the third bout. Wie led the epee squad going 2-1, and Hirsch and Golden added a win. Despite losing 3-6 at foil, Tolbert went an impressive 3-0 with 5-0, 5-4, and 5-3 victories.
The Brewers closed out with a 3-24 loss to Temple. Foil and saber dropped the 0-9 contests to the Owls, while the Vassar epee lost 3-6. Xie posted a 2-1 mark while adding a close 3-2 victory.
Vassar now has a slight break until they travel for the Cleveland State Invite on Jan. 15.
