The fencing team had experienced the best and the worst this weekend, losing to Princeton University by a score of 24-3 and getting a victory over James Madison University by a 26-1 margin, at the Stifel Fencing Salle.
In the first match of the day, Princeton’s strength and experience proved to be too much for the Red.
Head coach Al Peters said the deciding factor in the competition was the vast amount of experience each individual on the Princeton team has compared to the Cornell fencers.
“It’s not physical, it’s not a head thing,” Peters said of losing to Princeton. “Each one as an individual has more experience.”
The experience showed as the saber and foil squads were each shut out. The epee squad was the only team to post an individual win, yet inevitably fell by a 6-3 margin.
Yet the Red never gave up, staying close in each individual match-up. Senior epee captain Erica Wilhelm led the Red with two individual victories, while sophomore Meghan Phair contributed one win to the epee squad’s effort.
“The bouts were all close. It was a close match,” said Peters. “We were never completely out of it.”
Princeton and James Madison faced off against each other while the Red took a breather. Princeton came out on top, winning 25-2.
The Red then took on James Madison. Cornell dominated the competition by sweeping the epee and foil bouts, 9-0. The Red only lost one match in the saber category, to make the final score, 26-1.
“It feels good to do your job,” Peters said of the win over James Madison.
Individually, Wilhelm won another two matches and finished the day with four victories for the Red.
For the next two weeks, the Red will focus on preparing for its biggest weekend of the year. On Feb. 22, Columbia University, Pennsylvania State, University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University will travel to Ithaca to face the Red, at the Stifel Fencing Salle.
Archived article by Olivia Dwyer