Wellesley Earns First Program Win Over Boston College at NFC Conference Meet No. 1

WALTHAM, Mass. - Wellesley College fencing went 5-2 on Sunday at the Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) Meet No. 1 at Brandeis University in Waltham. Among the wins was Wellesley's first victory over Division I Boston College in program history.

The foil squad won six of seven matches, including three shutouts and a 5-4 win over Boston College. First year Gina Huang (Taipei, Taiwan) led the entire Blue fencing team with 14 wins on the day while senior Isabella Stewart (Scarsdale, N.Y.) went undefeated, winning all 10 of her matches. Senior Sejal Saxena (Chappaqua, N.Y.) picked up nine wins, and sophomore Ella Boodell (Edgemont, N.Y.) had seven.

The epee squad picked up four wins, including a stellar 7-2 win over Boston College. Senior Kimberley Kimura (Los Angeles, Calif.) won 11 matches and first year Grace Xu (Toronto, Ontario) won ten of her own in epee. First year Michelle Pan (Arlington, Mass.) had a single-day best eight wins.

The sabre squad won three matches. Senior Hunter Dodrill (Boca Raton, Fla.) won 11 matches, followed by first year Sharon Huang (Toronto, Ontario) with 10, and sophomore Makana Burch (Portland, Ore.) with seven.

Wellesley 16, Boston College 11

Epee and foil both earned victories over BC with Kimura and Xu going undefeated for epee. Boodell, senior Alexia Gilioli (New York, N.Y.), Dodrill, and S. Huang each won two matches for the Blue, while sophomore Elena Vona (Millstone, N.J.) and junior Edith Po (Bernardsville, N.J.) added one win each.

Wellesley 22, UMass Amherst 5

Foil and sabre squads both pulled off clean sweeps over UMass Amherst. Gilioli, Stewart, Saxena, G. Huang, and Po all went undefeated in foil as did Dodrill, Burch, S, Huang, and sophomore Leena Hobson (Oakland. Calif.) for sabre. Pan went 2-1 for epee. 

Wellesley 25, Boston University 2

Foil and sabre squads made it two straight shutouts, with identical 9-0 scores. Every fencer who went undefeated against UMass stayed undefeated against BU, while Pan also went 3-0 and first year Lily Millard (Selkirk, N.Y.) notched a win for epee.

Brandeis 14, Wellesley 13

Foil remained undefeated on the day with an 8-1 victory. Stewart and G. Huang won all three of their matches while Saxena went 2-1. Kimura won two matches for epee and Vona and Xu each won one. S. Huang grabbed a win for sabre. 

Brown 21, Wellesley 6

Foil grabbed four wins and epee won two against Division I Brown. Boodell was the lone member of the Blue with two wins while Gilioli, G. Huang, Kimura, and Vona each had one.

Wellesley 17, MIT 10

Foil and epee both defeated MIT as Boodell, G. Huang, and Xu all went 3-0. Saxena also scored a win for foil, Kimura won two and Vona won one for epee, and Dodrill went 2-1 for sabre while Burch and S. Huang each took a match.

Wellesley 26, New Hampshire 1

Foil and epee earned their third shutouts of the day. Stewart, G. Huang, and Po went undefeated for foil, Pan and Millard had three wins for epee, and Dodrill and Gilioli (in her sabre debut) went undefeated in sabre. 

The Blue next compete on December 4 back in Waltham for the Brandeis Invitational beginning at 10:00 AM.