Nov. 4, 2007

SOUTH HADLEY, MA - In her first competition as a Pioneer, freshman Anna Hanley (Medford, MA)went undefeated in winning the BIG ONE saber championship at Mount Holyoke College on Saturday.

Saber squad captain sophomore Krista Bacci (Creskill, NJ) also medalled, placing third after losing a very close 15-13 bout to Hanley in the semi- finals.

"It was a shame that Anna and Krista both ended up in the same side of the ladder. They fenced superbly today and were the class of the competition," said head coach Dr. Tom Vrabel.

In addition to the excellent performances from Hanley and Bacci, four other SHU fencers made the top sixteen in their events. In saber, freshman Kayla Cronin (Plainville, MA) placed 15th, while in epee freahman Ally Ratis (Lake Grove, NY) placed 10th and Sophomore squad captain Catie Sagevick (Garden City, NY) was 14th, and in foil freshman Jo Anne Siskidis (E. Setauket, NY) placed 12th.

"This was a fantastic start for our freshman class, having all four of them reach the top sixteen in their weapons," commented coach Vrabel. "Our improvement continues and we continue towards our goal of becoming one of the elite fencing programs in New England".

The Sacred Heart women fencers are next in action on Sunday, November 11th at Vassar.