Jan. 29, 2007

PROVIDENCE, RI - In their first weekend of conference action, the women's fencing team made great strides in saber and epee. The team lost four matches by scores of 16-11 to MIT and Boston College, 19-8 to Brandeis and 22-5 to Brown. The Pioneers defeated Dartmouth, 19-8.

The saber squad led the day having an overall 19-17 record and scored a 7-2 win over BC and a 5-4 win over MIT. The squad was again led by Krista Bacci (8-4) and team captain Liz Mordecai (7-5).

"Krista continues to dominate her weapon" comments head coach Dr. Tom Vrabel. "She was in every one of her matches and was only a few touches away from going undefeated. I am very happy with the development of the saber squad. Liz Mordecai is fencing the best saber of her career and since becoming a full time starter Courtney Perlee has made great progress. Liz and Krista now appear to be our best bets for qualifying for NCAA nationals come March".

The epee squad also showed great improvement this week. Led by Ali Roach's 5-5 effort the squad posted wins over MIT (6-3) and Brandeis (5-4). "I am very pleased with the progress of the epee team members. They have been working very hard with coach Luciano on bout strategy and it is really paying off. This group comprised mostly of freshmen should be very strong next season".

The team is back in action this Wednesday (Jan 31) against Yale at 7 PM at the Yale fencing room in the Payne Whitney gym.