The Cornell women’s fencing team faced an uphill battle in its four matches this past weekend. Facing its stiffest competition to date, the Red dropped matches to Temple, Penn State, Penn and Columbia — all nationally ranked competitors.
“This was a much more difficult competition for us,” said freshman Erica Waichman. “The teams we fenced on Saturday were a lot more experienced than some of the other teams we have been facing.”
The Red fell to both No. 3 Penn State and No. 8 Penn by a 21-6 margin and to No. 5 Columbia, 22-5.
The most contested match of the weekend was against No. 10 Temple, as Cornell was edged 16-11.
Against the Quakers, Cornell sophomore Shannon Flatley had the only foil victory and Waichman added two more triumphs. Junior Karen Klima took one match against Temple. “Despite the outcome, everyone fenced really well,” Waichman said. “It was a great way to end the season.”
The four losses dropped Cornell’s record to 8-9 to finish out its regular season. The under .500 does not indicate the kind of season the team had, as the Red displayed great improvement from last year and held its own against some of the best squads in the nation.
The Red will begin national competition in two weeks in Providence, R.I.
Archived article by MATT GORMAN
Sun Staff Writer