After last weekend's tough matches against NYU and Air Force, the women's fencing team struggled again at the Northeast Conference Meet this past weekend.
The Jumbos ended with a 2-4 record on Sunday with wins over Boston University and Smith. The team also fenced Boston College, Wellesley, Vassar and Sacred Heart. Missing from the lineup this past weekend were two key fencers, juniors Lauren Kaplan and Christine Lee.
"We were pretty much left with a beginner team," coach Jason Sachs said.
As a result, Sunday ended up becoming a day for members of the team who have not had as much competitive practice. Sophomore Lisa Yanushefski and freshmen Georgia Ranes, Coryn Wolk and Irina Schwatka all got valuable experience fencing against some of the top schools in New England.
"It was really a training day for people who have been working really hard [in practice]," Sachs said.
The Jumbos had no problem topping Boston University and Smith, both traditionally weaker teams, each 18-9. However, they struggled against the four other teams, against whom they have been well matched in past years.
Vassar's team has seen a considerable improvement over last season, as the Brewers finished in first place at the meet with a 6-0 record. Sacred Heart and BC, meanwhile, both finished 5-1 overall.
The Jumbos' foil team had a particularly tough day, especially in Lee's absence. Given the circumstances, the team was pleased with the outcome.
"The foil squad did really well ... even though we were missing Christine, who is our best foilist," said sophomore foilist Naomi Bryant, who is also an arts editor for the Daily. "We kept a positive attitude during the tournament and fought really hard against much larger teams. We had fun and learned a lot even when we were losing."
Epee also started out with some difficult bouts but improved as the day went on. In the last match against BC, epee won 7-2, contributing all but three of the Jumbos' winning bouts.
"[Sophomore] Amani Smathers and Coryn Wolk did well on Sunday ... which was especially impressive for Coryn," Sachs said. "We now have three strong epee starters."
The sabre team had the most success on Sunday. Sophomore sabre captain Alex Cheetham had a strong day individually, winning 2-1 in most matches and 3-0 in the BC match.
"We fenced both varsity and club teams, and so we had the opportunity to fence people of a wide range of abilities throughout the day," Cheetham said. "I won all three bouts against BC, which should serve me well as I will probably be fencing the same fencers again soon."
In addition, freshman Catherine Bowlus did well against BC, the Jumbos' strongest opponent, and freshman Mary Moseley held her own against the club teams.
While some fencers achieved personal success, the real success was that the beginning players gained invaluable experience against competitive local teams, especially since the team is still recovering from the loss of seven fencers from last year.
"It's a tough year for results ... but it's a cycle of a competitive team," Sachs said. "I'm still happy how things are going."
In the meantime, the team is looking forward to the New England Collegiate Championships this Sunday at Dartmouth, where they will fence many of the teams for the second time in as many weeks.
"The team is in a good position for next week," Sachs said. "I'm confident that the epee team will do well."
