The Cornell women’s fencing team opened its season at the 30th Annual Temple Fencing Open last weekend. The Red had six top-10 finishes in the individual tournament.

The Red had its best showing in the epee, where four Red fencers placed in the top-10 out of a field of 65. Cornell was led by freshman Christie Robinson and senior Tasha Hall who took fifth and sixth, respectively. Senior Sallie Dietrich (ninth) and freshman Maria Napolitano (tenth) rounded out the top-10. Senior All-Ivy League fencer Katherine Thompson took 19th and freshman Adelaide McDonnell placed 24th for the Red.

“There were a lot of really good fencers there,” said Hall. “It was a really long and exhausting tournament. For the beginning of the year, I thought my own individual performance was pretty good, especially for who I was competing against.”

The outing by Robinson in her first tournament was one of many highlights for the Red.

“Christie definitely has a lot of spunk, and she kept high spirits the whole tournament,” said Hall. “Even when she was probably tired she never looked it.”

Sophomore Rebecca Hirschfeld had the best individual performance for the Red, capturing the bronze medal in foil by tying for third in a field of 92. Senior Dana Baines also turned in an 11th-place finish. Analise Peleggi (29th), Lucia Rafanelli (36th) and McKellen Rattray (t-37th) rounded out the results for the Red.

“I was really happy with my result and the way I fenced and how focused I was,” said Hirschfeld, “I was just trying to stay focused and do my best and try to represent Cornell the best I could.”

Freshman Audrey Speer turned in Cornell’s best performance in sabre, finishing eighth out of 73 in her first action as a member of the Red. Fellow freshman Beverly Yang just missed the top-10 with an 11th-place finish. Kathleen Halpin (30th) and Anna Bardakh (73rd) also turned in good performances for Cornell.

“It was pretty nerve-racking,” said Speer of her first tournament. “I tried to focus on the next touch; I didn’t want to think too far ahead. I knew I was doing well, but you don’t want to think about the end result because that will just throw you off. I was just focusing on keeping my energy up and just trying to do what I learned in practice.”

The Red will count on its youth heavily this season. Currently the Red has nine freshmen listed on its roster. Robinson was a New Jersey all-state fencer while Napolitano won the Connecticut state championship in epee her senior year of high school. Speer won five straight Virginia Saber Championships from 2005 to 2009.

“Our freshmen did very well,” said Hall. “It’s really great to have a lot of freshmen because they’re always excited and have a lot of spirit to them.”

The Red will look to continue their success when they travel to the Vassar Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Nov. 15. If this past weekend was any indication, this season should be a fantastic one for Cornell.

“I’m really proud of our team,” said Hirschfeld. “There’s definitely a lot of potential for our team in the future to do really well.”