Dec. 11, 2007

FAIRFIELD, CT - The Pioneer women's fencing team ended the fall semester on another high note by defeating Yeshiva 25-2 and Hunter College 19-8 while dropping a very close 16-11 decision to Yale.

The weekend started at Yale's Payne-Whitney Gym on Saturday where the meet was not decided until the middle of the last round of competition. The saber stars Anna Hanley (Medford, MA) and Krista Bacci (Creskill, NJ) led the way with 3-0 and 2-1 marks against a strong Yale saber squad.

"These two saberists have been absolutely fantastic this season," said head coach Dr. Tom Vrabel. "With Krista finishing the fall campaign with a 25-4 record and Anna going 20-7, they are putting themselves in great shape for getting high seeds in the NCAA regionals".

Also starring against Yale was Mary Dannegger (Bronx, NY) who went 2-1 against the Elis and 6-2 for the weekend. "We are getting very close to winning against traditional powerhouses like Yale and with the team being so young (one senior and one junior starter) we will just keep getting better" said Vrabel.

On Sunday the women completed the semester's matches with strong wins against Yeshiva and Hunter.

"Last year Hunter came in to the Pitt Center and defeated us, so it was great to see how well we controlled the contest on Sunday" commented Vrabel. "Finishing the fall with a 7-3 record is outstanding, considering our three losses were to Harvard, Yale and UPenn. I am excited about our chances in league competition come January."

The team is back in action on Sunday January 13th at Temple University where they will be competing in the Philadelphia Invitational.