FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's fencing team traveled to Northeast Conference competitor Sacred Heart, competing against seven schools in the first multi-team meet test for the Knights this season on Sunday at the Sacred Heart Invitational.

Round 1 – FDU 12 - Vassar  15
Despite an impressive 8-1 victory by FDU's saber squad (Sophia Bischof (Bonn, Germany/Albert Einstein Gymnasium) 3-0, Hanna Heldenmuth (Miami, Fla./Keystone National) 3-0, Genele Streitz (Mendham, NJ/West Morris Mendham High School) 2-1), Vassar was able to post strong scores in foil and epee to top the Knights in round one of competition and deliver FDU its first loss of the season in team competition.

Round 2 – FDU 16 - Wellesley  11
FDU's saber and foil squads were able to top Wellesley College, capped by 3-0 performances by Alix Lerch (Puebla, Puebla, Mexico/Instituto Oriente) in foil and Bischof in saber. This victory also marked the first team format win of the season for FDU's Women's Fencing Team, and freshman athletes Tanya Rivera (Union City, N.J./Union City) (epee) and Janki Patel (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Indian Hills) (foil) earned their first victories in collegiate competition. Sophomore Yeliz Inalman (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee), who recently converted from foil to epee, also earned her first collegiate epee victory.

Round 3 – FDU 17 - Army 10
Squad captains Heldenmuth (saber), Lerch (foil), and Christine Forsythe (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) (epee) all posted perfect 3-0 scores. In saber, Bischof also went 2-0, and sophomore Kathryn Heaney (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) was able to earn the final victory for saber, her first team win of the season. All three squads earned victories over West Point, marking the first sweep for FDU this year.

Round 4 – FDU 14 - Tufts  13
FDU senior Alexis Camara (Tampa, FL/Freedom) posted a 3-0 performance in foil to help edge the victory in a tightly contested match against Tufts. Along with another undefeated performance by Lerch, the foil squad was able to carry the narrow victory despite losing efforts in epee and saber.

Round 5 – FDU 7  - Cornell  20
Against competition favorite and Ivy League opponent Cornell University, FDU was unable to claim a squad victory in any weapon, despite winning efforts by Sophia and Heldenmuth in saber and Lerch in foil. Forsythe posted the only victory for epee.

Round 6 – FDU 8 -  Sacred Heart  19
Host school Sacred Heart was able to earn the team victory with dominant foil and epee performances, but not before FDU's saber squad posted a 5-4 win behind undefeated performances by Heldenmuth (3-0) and Bischof (2-0). Forsythe posted the epee squad's best mark at 2-1, and Lerch earned the only victory for the foil squad.


Round 7 – FDU 13 -  City College of New York 14
Although FDU's saber squad was able to close the day with a dominant 7-2 victory, CCNY was able to earn the team upset over the Knights in a closely contested match. In saber, Heldenmuth posted another 3-0 performance, and sophomore Heaney, subbing for Bischof in the final round, was also able to post an undefeated 3-0 mark, with Streitz adding the squad's final victory. In epee, Forsythe went undefeated and Inalman added another victory before the epee squad was edged 4-5, and Lerch posted the only victories in the foil squad's 2-7 defeat.

The best overall performance was Bischof with a 12-2 record. 

Up next for FDU is the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, N.J. on  Nov. 30 at 6 p.m.