Wellesley Fencing Goes 4-1 at Shark Tank Challenge to Begin Season

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Wellesley College fencing went 4-1 with wins over Drew, NJIT, Stevens and Rutgers on Sunday to open the season at the LIU Shark Tank Challenge.

First years Alisha Li (Warren, N.J.) and Phoebe Li (Palo Alto, Calif.) led the Blue with 11 wins on the day, while classmate Lauren Khoo (San Francisco, Calif.) and sophomore Grace Xu (Toronto, Ontario) each added ten.

Foil squad had a perfect 5-0 day, sabre squad, backed by junior Makana Burch (Washougal, Wash.) and sophomore Sharon Huang (Toronto, Ontario) went 4-1, and epee squad won three matches.

Wellesley 21, Drew 6

Epee went 8-1 against Drew, with Xu and Li combining for five wins, while junior Elena Vona (Millstone, N.J.), and sophomores Lily Millard (Selkirk, N.Y.), and Michelle Pan (Arlington, Mass.) all won a bout. Foil grabbed seven wins, with P. Li and sophomore Gina Huang (Taipei, Taiwan) each going 3-0, and senior Edith Po (Bernardsville, N.J.) adding a win. Burch and Huang both won two matches in sabre while junior Mia Chao (Washington, D.C.) and first year Rebecca Hsieh (Annandale, Va.) both won one match.

Wellesley 20, NJIT 7

P. Li, Khoo, and Po combined for seven foil wins, while A. Li, Vona, and Xu had four wins for epee. Burch, Hsieh, and S. Huang all went 1-0 in sabre, with NJIT defaulting the rest of the bouts.

Wellesley 20, Stevens 7

Khoo and A. Li each picked up three wins against Stevens, while S. Huang, Chao, Burch, Xu, and Po all went 2-0. G. Huang had two wins in foil and Hsieh and first year Claire Ma (Boston, Mass.) both picked up a win for the Blue.

LIU 14, Wellesley 13

Foil squad defeated LIU 5-4, while epee and sabre both narrowly fell 5-4. Khoo and P. Li both went 2-1 for foil while G. Huang had the fifth point. A. Li and Xu each had two victories for epee and S. Huang picked up two for sabre, while Burch and Hsieh had one apiece.

Wellesley 17, Rutgers 10

Wellesley ended the day with a win over Rutgers. Khoo and P. Li were each 3-0 while Burch, Xu, and A. Li all scored two wins. Ma, Pan, Chao, Hsieh, and sophomore Naomi Wang (Boston, Mass.) all had one win each.

Up next, Wellesley will compete at the Vassar Invitational, beginning at 10:00 AM on Sunday, November 12.