Although Tufts' season came to an end Sunday at Regionals at MIT, the squad got the chance to compete some of the best fencers in the world.
"There were some awesome schools -- Yale, Brown, Harvard," sophomore epeeist Georgia Ranes said. "All the big-name schools were there, and it made for great fencing."
"None of us did awesome, and none of us did horribly either," she continued. "We held our own for the most part. But our chances of moving on weren't high to begin. [The selection process] was a culmination of our entire season, and in order to move on we would've had to have lost only five bouts."
All three members of this year's starting epee squad -- the Jumbos' strongest team -- competed in Regionals. Ranes and sophomore Coryn Wolk both notched 27-9 individual marks during the regular season, good for Second Team All-Conference honors, while junior epee captain Rebecca Hughes compiled a 12-13 record, the best mark for any of Tufts' C fencers. Wolk and Ranes held their own in the weekend's competition; both advanced to the second round despite Wolk fencing through physical setbacks.
"In the first round, I did quite well, but in the second round, my knee problems came back," Wolk said. "They were there in the first, but they got worse. I've always had joint issues, but they're getting a lot worse. For break, I can get them more thoroughly checked out, so I'm happy the season's over."
Wolk was not the only Jumbo hampered by injury, as Hughes also fought through pain in her knees.
"[Hughes] has had a lot of problems with her knees and was considering not coming to the tournament, but she took one for the team, and she did well considering," Ranes said.
Wolk finished atop her pool in the first round, dropping just a single bout on her way to landing the No. 20 spot, while Ranes came in tied for 22nd, both easily surpassing their initial No. 29 and No. 30 seedings, respectively. Wolk made quick work of the third-seeded epeeist, Columbia's junior Tess Finkel, defeating her 5-2. Ranes' tightest first-round bout came against the higher-seeded senior Caitlin Kozel of Brandeis, whom Ranes defeated 5-4. But in the second round, both Wolk and Ranes lost two bouts apiece by a 5-4 score and ended without any victories.
Senior foil captain Christine Lee, one of nine fencers in the Northeast Fencing Conference named to the First Team All-Northeast after going 30-6 in the competitive league, also saw action over the weekend. Lee has been one of the most accomplished fencers in the program's history, and as a freshman, she had advanced to Nationals out of the Northeast with a solid performance at Regionals. Lee was unable to replicate the same level of success this past weekend, admitting that as compared to her performance Sunday, her freshman year saw her stronger performance. Still, Lee didn't let any bouts get away without a battle, pulling out a number of close finishes in the losing effort.
"I went 1-4, maybe 1-5, but all the bouts were great," Lee said. "Every bout was a fight. Two bouts I lost 5-4, so I could've won those. Even after I finished, though I didn't fence as well I would've liked, I felt a sense of accomplishment."
One of Lee's close calls came to St. John's junior Nora Szita, who ultimately qualified for Nationals, and Lee understood that even if she had advanced to the second round, she still would have had a slim chance at advancing to the NCAA Championships. She finished 29th as Harvard senior and Olympic silver medalist Emily Cross topped the field.
Freshman sabre fencer Sarah Danly also competed at Regionals, finishing the competition in 32nd place. Columbia junior Daria Schneider, who previously won the NCAA sabre individual championship, finished atop the field. Freshman foilist Meredith Paul also qualified for Regionals but did not make the trip to Cambridge.
The NCAA Championships will be held at Penn State from March 19-22.
