PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – After more than one month since its last competition, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's fencing team resumed action at the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday. The Knights last competed on Sunday, Dec. 4 at the NIWFA Christmas Invitational at Rutgers.
The Philadelphia Invitational, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, featured seven rounds, with each team having at least one bye round.
The Knights opened up against NYU, but the Violets proved to be too much, winning the match 20-7.
The Knights did their best in Epee, winning the round 5-4. Freshman
Natalia Toby earned three wins over Eileen Wang, Stephanie Cunningham and Cyn Chau. Junior
Emily Gifford also picked up a pair of wins of Cunningham and Hannah Bennett. NYU topped the Knights 8-1 in foil, with the lone win for the Knights coming from
Nadine Abdelaziz who beat Alisa Traskunov. Fairleigh Dickinson also lost 8-1 in Saber with senior
Jillian Habersaat picking up the lone point over Cydney Williams.
Fairleigh Dickinson had a bye in round two.
In round three, the Knights lost to UNC, 23-4. The team earned all its points in the Epee round, but came up just short with a 5-4 loss. Gifford picked up two wins over Samantha Galina and Erin O'Neill. Toby added a point for the Knights with a win over Elli Moreno and
Jennifer Vernon downed Galina for the final point.
The Knights were narrowly edged by Haverford in round four, 16-11. Fairleigh Dickinson put on its best performance in Epee, beating the Fords 8-1. Gifford and Toby each took home three wins while Vernon added two for the Knights. The trio each earned wins over Brooke Garbarini and Lauren Pronger. Toby and Gifford also picked up a point each with a win over Julia Albertson.
Fairleigh Dickinson fell 7-2 in Foil. Abdelaziz picked up both points for the Knights, beating Alexandra Morrison and Amira Abujara. The Knights fell 8-1 in Saber with the lone point coming from Habersaat, who beat Ayesha Bhikha.
Fairleigh Dickinson had another bye in round five.
In round six, the Knights fell 17-10 to New Jersey foe Drew. Fairleigh Dickinson earned a 6-3 win in Epee. Gifford defeated Claudia West before taking down Erin Heller and Marina Hahn while Toby took down Anna Scheckel before defeating Hahn and Arti Sunder.
The Knights lost both Foil and Saber, 7-2. In Foil, Abdelaziz picked up both points with wins over Caitlin Kotz and Kelsey Oeler. Habersaat earned both Knights' points in Saber, defeating Joy Brooks and Pearl Sutter.
Fairleigh Dickinson did not compete in the seventh and final round.
The Knights are back in action on Feb. 4-5 at the Northwestern Duals in South Bend, Ind.
Complete Results:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
