The Stevens Women’s Fencing team competed at the Temple-hosted Coach Nikki Franke Classic in Philadelphia, PA, on Saturday, October 24.
In the épée discipline, senior Grace Hicks, sophomore Madyson Gavilanes, and senior Sofia Stoeckel all had strong pool-play performances, each recording at least two wins and 17 touches.
Hicks recorded 18 touches and two wins in pool-play. Heading into the tableau, she followed her previous victories by securing a win of 15-5 in her opening match in bracket play. She ended up later losing 15-10 to an opponent from Florida. Stoeckel competed in this discipline and their successes included 17 touches and wins over opponents from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in pool-play. Similar to Hicks, she was able to continue her success in the tableau by taking an initial win over a competitor from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), but also later lost in the next round to the No. 1 seed from Penn. In pool-play, the Ducks continued to compete with Gavilanes, who managed 19 touches and three wins, including one over an opponent from Penn. She continued to pick up wins in the tableau over opponents from Haverford College and Johns Hopkins University, but ended up falling to the No. 5 seed from Boston College in the round of 16.
In the foil competition, junior Julia DiPaolo and senior Akemi Rodriguez had early victories, each achieving two pool-play wins. One win from Rodriguez even included a win over an opponent from FDU. Later in the tableau, DiPaolo lost in her first match to an opponent from Boston College. Meanwhile, Rodriguez faced two opponents from Penn in the tableau. While she initially continued her prior success by securing a win in her first match against her opponent, she later fell to the No. 1 seed.
During the sabre event, junior Ashlyn Leung became the sixth Duck of the day to have a strong pool-play performance, as she had multiple wins in the pool-play competitions that included one over an opponent from Florida. She later ended up losing in the first round of the tableau to an opponent from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
The Stevens Women’s Fencing team will return to competition on November 7 and 8 at the Drew Invitational.
