Feb. 26, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Krista Bacci finished 3rd and Liz Mordecai 6th at the Northeast Womens Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Tournament on Saturday at MIT. Their performances led the saber squad to a 4th place finish, falling one victory short of third place. The team finished 8th overall in the 13 team event.

"Despite battling a high ankle sprain and knowing that she did not have her "A" game, Krista still refused to lose and came up with a strong performance" commented head coach Dr. Tom Vrabel. "She is a real gamer and has the ability to give everything she has all the time."

In addition to Bacci's success, Mordecai had a strong tournament, going 11-1 in the team portion of the event. She started out strong in the individual semifinals but suffered a serious foot sprain that forced her to retire from the final round and take 6th place.

"It sure was a tough break for Liz today" said coach Vrabel. "She was really on her game and had a great chance to become individual champion. I hope that she recovers quickly and can be at her best at the NCAA regionals in two weeks"

The epee squad also had a great tournament, tying with Vassar College with 23 victories but losing losing third place to the Brewers on touch differential. Mary Dannegger and Catie Sagevick both qualified for the individual epee championships with Dannegger finishing 8th and Sagevick 10th. Ali Roach also fenced strong in the A pool and lost out qualifying for the individual competition by one touch.

"I am so proud of how the epee squad came on this year" said Coach Vrabel. "They are very young (1 sophomore and 3 freshmen) and had a tough time adjusting early in the season to college competition. Despite the early season disappointment they stayed focused and worked very hard and have now become as successful as the saber squad. They are ready to become a force next year in Northeastern Fencing"

The team completes their regional season at the NCAA Northeast Region qualifying tournament on March 11th at Tufts University.