On October 20, the women’s fencing team went up against Wellesley College, Drew University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and Long Island University (LIU) at the Sharktank Challenge, hosted by LIU. The Ducks’ overall fell to 0-4 for the season, with final scores of 7-20, 12-15, 13-14, and 10-17 respectively.
The Sabre group, consisting of first-years Sasha Craine and Ashlyn Leung and senior Alyssa Ip, was the most successful weapon group of the day for the Ducks. Against Drew, Craine got three wins, and Leung got two wins, beating the Rangers with a 5-4 score. Against NJIT, Craine and Leung each got two wins, and Ip got one win, giving them a second 5-4 win, this time against the Highlanders. The group ended by landing three wins against LIU, leaving Stevens with the win against the Sharks and Craine and Leung tallying seven wins with Sabre.
For the Foil group, there were wins made by senior Elizabeth MacDonald, first-year Julia DiPaolo, junior Emily Zgombic, and sophomore Akemi Rodriguez. MacDonald went 3-0 against the Rangers, with DiPaolo notching another win. Along with that, DiPaolo got a pair of wins against NJIT, with MacDonald and Zgombic each adding a win of their own. MacDonald, Zgombic, DiPaolo, and Rodriguez all landed a win against Wellesley, and MacDonald picked up one win against the Sharks. With a total of six wins with Foil, MacDonald led, followed by DiPaolo with four. Even with all of these wins, the Foil group lost to Wellesley, Drew, and NJIT with a 4-5 loss and to LIU with a 1-8 loss.
In the Epee group, there were four wins against NJIT, three against LIU and Drew, and two against Wellesley, collectively made by sophomore Grace Hicks, senior Renny Victoria, and junior Emily Miller. Hicks and Victoria both grabbed a pair of wins against the Highlanders and then Hicks proceeded to pick up a perfect 3-0 win against LIU. Miller got one win against Wellesley, followed by Hicks, who landed one win against Wellesley and two against Drew. This gave Hicks a team-high of eight victories with Epee.
Assistant coach Adam Mathieu said of the match, “It was a good day for the growth and development of the team. Injuries of upperclassmen opened space for standout performances for first years like Ashlyn Leung going 7-4 on the day.” Looking ahead, the Ducks will head to Pennsylvania next on October 26 to compete in the Temple Open against Temple University.
