On Sunday, October 30, the men’s and women’s fencing teams traveled to the Simon Forum at Drew University for the first part of the Rangers Fall Invitational. Both teams proved to be strong contenders for the season, with the men’s team finishing with an overall 5-1 record and the women’s team finishing with an overall 4-1 record.
To attain such a strong record, the men’s team beat Drew University, Vassar College, Army, and Yeshiva University, but lost a hard-fought battle to NJIT. Sophomore Colin Mahoney and senior Dylan Woodward each finished the day with 13 individual wins—a record team-high. Mahoney ended the day with perfect 3-0 performances in two matches against Drew and one against Army. He also won his only match against Yeshiva and Vassar and two matches against NJIT. Woodward ended the day with perfect 3-0 performances against Drew, Vassar, and Yeshiva. He also won matches against Drew and Army. Additionally, sophomore John Morreale had a strong performance, finishing with nine wins. This event also put graduate student Matthew Jacobson only two wins away from 100 career wins. Looking at the three weapon groups separately, the sabre group finished the day with 43 wins, the epee group finished with 33 wins, and the foil group finished with 29 wins.
After such a successful day, Head Coach James Carpenter commented that “It was a really good start to the season for us. I’m really happy with the close wins over Drew and Vassar, and it was great to see Colin really step up his game, going 13-2 against a tough field.”
This invitational marked the collegiate debuts for first-years James Glover, Nick Reznick, and Aden Vishnevsky.
The women’s team was just as successful. The Ducks beat Clemson University, Wagner College, Drew University, and Army, but lost to NJIT as the men did. Junior Alana Schmitt and sophomore Arianna Daringa both ended the day’s competition with 12 individual wins — again, a record team-high. Schmitt ended the day with a perfect 3-0 performance against Clemson and Drew, and Daringa had unblemished performances in bouts against Clemson, Wagner, Drew, and Army. Both Schmitt and Daringa ended with an impressive 12-2 record. Additionally, first-year Emily Zgobmic and senior Claire McNeill had strong performances, finishing the day with 11 and 10 wins, respectively. Considering the three separate weapon groups, the foil group finished with 33 wins, the sabre group finished with 30 wins, and the epee group finished with 21 wins.
Assistant coach Linda Volllkommer-Lynch added that “Today was a great day for the women’s team. We were able to defeat two teams today, Wagner and Drew, that we lost to last week. Overall, it was a great day of fencing with team wins and good individual performances.”
The event marked the collegiate debut for first-year Nerissa Lundquist.
After such impressive performances, both teams are geared up for a strong season. The teams both returned to the Simon Forum on November 6 for the second day of the Rangers Fall Invitational. The men’s team finished with a perfect 6-0 record, and the women’s team finished with a 4-1 record on Sunday.
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