Wellesley Fencing Competes at Vassar Invitational

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The Wellesley College fencing team finished Sunday with four victories and four defeats at the 2014 Vassar Invitational. The Blue defeated Yeshiva, Hunter, Queens and West Point while also competing against CCNY, Stevens, FDU and Haverford. 

The Blue dropped their opening bout to CCNY. After falling 4-5 in foil and 6-3 in epee, Wellesley nearly rallied to tie, grabbing a 6-3 victory in sabre, to drop a narrow 13-14 decision.

Wellesley rebounded to take its next two matches. The Blue defeated Yeshiva 24-3 thanks to a 9-0 sweep in foil paired with 8-1 victories of 8-1 in epee and 7-2 in sabre. Wellesley then cruised to a 21-6 victory over Hunter, taking 6-3 decisions in foil, 7-2 in epee and 8-1 in sabre.

On the day, Wellesley picked up three 9-0 victories in foil as the the foil fencers went 6-3 overall. Both the epee and sabre crews finished the day with marks of 7-2. 

The Blue fell to Stevens, 12-15, before going on to split the final four matches of the day. Wellesley then defeated Queens, 23-4, thanks to the second foil sweep of the day, a 6-3 epee win and an 8-1 sabre victory. 

Wellesley closed out the day with defeats at the hands of FDU, 11-16, and Haverford, 10-17, on either side of a 21-6 victory over West Point. Foil grabbed another 9-0 victory while epee went 7-2 and sabre went 5-4 in the victory over West Point.

Individually, senior Kathryn Ledbetter enjoyed a fantastic day in epee competition, going 20-4. Charlotte Treadwell wasn't far behind Ledbetter in epee, as the junior finished with a 17-7 mark. 

First-year Taylor Hood also had a fine showing in foil, going 18-6 in her bouts. Both Pamela Wang and Jasmine Davis finished with records of 16-8, with Wang competing in foil and Davis competing in sabre. 

Sophomore Alice Xu, first year Madeleine Barowsky, and junior Camille Samulski also recorded double-digit win totals on the day, as Xu and Barowsky finished with 15 and 13, respectively, in sabre and Samulski added 12 in foil. Vanessa Willoughby added seven victories in epee for the Blue while Olivia Wei (foil) and Cassie Hoff (sabre) also competed for Wellesley. 

Wellesley fencing will now turn to the first Northeast Conference Meet of the season on Saturday, November 15 at MIT. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM.