Blue Fencing Goes 6-0 at NFC No. 3; Sets Program Record For Wins at 24
MEDFORD, Mass. -- Wellesley College fencing used a 6-0 record at the third Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) meet of the season to set the program record for wins in a season at 24 on Sunday at Tufts. The Blue defeated the host Jumbos, Smith College, UMass, Vassar, Boston University, and Dartmouth to finish the NFC season with a 9-3 record.
Wellesley (24-7 overall) broke the program record for wins set last season when the Blue finished 23-6. Senior Brie Maurer (Fredericksburg, Va.) finished with a 16-1 record to lead the foil squad. Junior Julia Calventus-Coveney (Barcelona, Spain) and first year Kimberley Kimura (Los Angeles, Calif.) each went 12-3 to pace the epee squad, while first year Brooke Dodrill (Boca Raton, Fla.) was 14-1 to lead the sabre squad. Competing in their final dual meet, the team recognized Maurer and fellow senior Sarah Guise (Silver Spring, Md.) following Sunday's competition.
Wellesley 18, Tufts 9
The Blue opened the day with an 18-9 win over Tufts. The Blue dropped a 5-4 decision in the final bout of epee but took the team win with victories of 8-1 in foil and 6-3 in sabre. Maurer was 3-0 to lead foil, with Dodrill, Yasemin Ersen (Newton, Mass.) and Hanamei Shao (Vandenberg AFB, Calif.) each finishing 2-1 in the sabre victory.
Wellesley 25, Smith 2
Wellesley overwhelmed Smith in the team's second match-up of the day. Wellesley took 9-0 sweeps in foil and epee and a 7-2 victory in sabre. Clara Brotzen-Smith (Houston, Texas) finished 3-0 in foil. Calventus-Coveney and Kimura paced the foil squad with perfect records, with Dodrill and Ersen doing the same in sabre.
Wellesley 22, UMass 5
The Blue continued to cruise against UMass, earning a 9-0 win in foil and an 8-1 win in sabre. Calventus-Coveney clinched epee in the final bout. Panya Tang (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) put the Blue ahead, 4-3, with a win in her only bout but UMass countered to tie the dual at 4-4. Calventus-Coveney then earned her second victory of the round, 5-1, to clinch the weapon, 5-4, for the Blue.
Wellesley 20, Vassar 7
Wellesley moved to 4-0 on the day with a 20-7 win over the Brewers. Maurer, Gilioli, and Sejal Saxena (Chappaqua, N.Y.) each finished with 2-1 records in foil, while Dodrill, Ersen, and Shao swept through sabre. Kimura clinched a 5-4 in epee in the second to last bout of the round, earning a 5-3 win that helped her finish with a 2-1 record. Calventus-Coveney was also 2-1 against Vassar.
Wellesley 19, Boston University 8
The Blue earned 7-2 victories in foil and epee and a 5-4 victory in sabre to defeat the Terriers and move to 5-0. Dodrill was the hero in sabre, earning a 5-4 victory in the final bout to help Wellesley earn the 5-4 victory in the weapon.
Wellesley 27, Dartmouth 0
Wellesley beat a shorthanded Dartmouth team 27-0 to end the day. Maurer and Gilioli each finished the day with a 3-0 record in foil.
Wellesley will now prepare for the NEIFC Championships on Saturday February 22 at Vassar College. The Blue are the defending Women's 3-Weapon Team Champions and boasted the top sabre squad at the 2019 Championships.