Women's fencing goes 4-1 last weekend to better season record to 8-3

Carrying the momentum of the previous weekend's performances, the women's fencing team came within one point of sweeping their second conference meet this past weekend, going 4-1 on Saturday. Despite the tight 14-13 loss to Boston College, the Jumbos looked impressive in their other victories, crushing Wellesley 23-4, Boston University 24-3, New Hampshire 20-7, and UMass-Amherst 16-11. The slew of contests helped the squad to lift its overall conference record to 8-3.

Having faced extremely difficult competition in past weekends, including four matches against top 20 programs, the Jumbos felt confident heading into this past weekend's contest. They jumped out of the gate in a hurry, burying conference foes Wellesley and Boston University. However, going into the meet, Tufts knew that the most difficult and exciting matches would be against Boston College, and the match up lived up to its billing.

The teams matched each other well, with most individual bouts being decided by a mere one point difference. In the end, the Eagles squeaked by with a one point victory, but Tufts was not discouraged. Despite the loss, Tufts still feels it is the better team.

"We should be able to defeat them at the New England Championships," senior co-captain Frances Harper said.

The women were able to quickly rebound and take care of New Hampshire and UMass-Amherst, although fatigue began to show near the end of the match. With this meet coming just a week after two previous tournaments, Tufts appeared sluggish near the end, and according to coach Jason Sachs, the team barely escaped UMass-Amherst due to enervation.

Despite the exhaustion near the end, the team, in general, seems to be peaking at the right time. Using a combination of experienced seniors like Kasara Williams and Diana Deluca along with a crop of promising freshman _ which includes Sasha Brodski, Katherine Zouein, and Camilia Miller _ the squad seems certain to make an impact in the upcoming post-season events.

The team now has a two-week rest period before the post-season begins, starting with the New England Championships.

"The break allows us time to work hard in preparation for our post-season meets, including New Englands and NEIWFAs," senior co-captain Christina Zahara said. "We have a strong enough team this year that I believe we can win New Englands if we work hard enough."

Sachs, while continuing to push his group to work harder to prepare for the difficult challenges that lie ahead, is proud of his team's overall performances to date.

"In general this has been an exciting year," Sachs said. "Last year was a serious rebuilding one and our team is reaping the benefits from it. We had a lot of beginning fencers and people who were on the cusp of becoming great fencers who just needed more seasoning. This year, these people, coupled with a very strong freshman class, have made us very strong."

The New England Championships, consisting of 12 teams who qualified for post-season, is set to take place on Feb. 23 at the University of New Hampshire.