First year Lucille Tsao finished in a tie for third in foil after advancing to the semifinals (Frank Poulin).
First year Lucille Tsao finished in a tie for third in foil after advancing to the semifinals (Frank Poulin).
Posted: Feb 24, 2018

Wellesley Fencing Takes 3rd Overall at NEIFC Championships

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College fencing combined for 70 bout victories and a +125 touch ratio to take third place overall in the team standings at the 2018 NEIFC Championships on Saturday at Mount Holyoke. 

The Blue had medalists in all three weapons, as the foil squad led the way with a second place finish in the team standings. Wellesley also finished fifth overall in epee and eighth overall in sabre during Saturday's event, which featured opening round qualification pools, followed by an elimination round and bracket to determine the NEIFC individual champion in each weapon.

First year Lucille Tsao (Succasunna, N.J.) finished in a tie for third in foil, as she earned four victories with a touch ratio of +7 in her opening round pool before advancing to the semifinals with a 15-9 victory over Jennifer Kahn of Smith in the foil quarterfinals. Tsao's day came to an end in the foil final four with a 15-4 setback to Cindy Shen of Dartmouth.

Sophomore Brie Maurer (Fredericksburg, Va.) was the top seed heading into the foil elimination bracket thanks to a 4-1 record and a +13 touch ratio in her opening pool. However, Maurer failed to advance out of the quarters, failing in a close 15-12 final to Sophie Blumenstock of Vassar. Also competing in foil, senior Taylor Hood (Lexington, Ky.) was winless in the opening round and did not advance to the bracket.

First year Julia Calventus-Coveney (Barcelona, Spain) was Wellesley's lone representative in the epee elimination round, but the Blue's first year standout put on a show, advancing to the semifinals after going 3-2 with a -2 touch ratio in her opening round pool. Calventus-Coveney needed every touch in an opening round win over Samantha Abbott of Sacred Heart, as she advanced to the semis with a 15-14 victory. Calventus-Coveney then dropped a 15-8 final to eventual epee champion Helen Sakharova of MIT.

Wellesley final medal came in sabre, where first year Lauren Park (Wayne, N.J.) advanced to the bracket round with a 2-3 record and a -2 touch ratio in her pool. Park then dropped a 15-12 final to Bridget Marturano of Tufts in the quarterfinals. 

Wellesley will now focus on the 2018 NCAA Northeast Regional on Sunday, March 11 at Brandeis University. Competition begins at 9:00 AM.