On the brink of Ancient Eight competition, the men’s and women’s fencing teams both faltered this weekend in non-conference meets.

Both sets of Bulldogs struggled in the face of tough competition at the NYU Invitational — their last meet before Ivy League competition gets underway Sunday. The men’s squad (6-5) returned with two wins and three losses, and the women (5-7) compiled a 1-4 record.

The men’s squad swept all of the weapons in wins over Stevens and Wayne State. The epeeists led the charge in the 19-8 defeat of Stevens, cruising to an 8-1 victory, thanks in large part to standout Michael Pearce ’09. Meanwhile, the foils delivered a perfect 9-0 win against Wayne State on the way to a 20-7 Bulldog victory, with the epee and sabre squads taking narrower 6-3 and 5-4 margins, respectively.

But the men faced a different story against the talent from Notre Dame, NYU and Ohio State. After getting swept by the Fighting Irish in all of the weapons, the Bulldogs picked up wins by the foil squad against the Violets and the epeeists against the Buckeyes but still could not garner enough points to top either squad.

On the women’s side, the Elis’ lone win came over Wayne State, whom the Bulldogs bested in all three weapons. Jen Ivers ’10, Lidia Gocheva ’10 and Jennifer Cohen ’09 led the way with a 9-0 victory for the foils, while the epee squad fenced to a 6-3 win and the sabre squad eked out a 5-4 decision.

However, the Elis were not as fortunate in their other four matches. The Yale sabre squad managed to claim a 7-2 victory against NYU, but the Bulldogs were beaten in every other weapon. The day ended on a low note, with a 25-2 trouncing by the Buckeyes.

Both squads will be back in action at home Sunday, when they host the Ivy North Competition at Payne Whitney Gymnasium.