The men and women’s fencing teams picked up where they left off before the break on Monday night at Payne Whitney Gymnasium with wins over Vassar. After both teams swept the Brandeis Invitational before winter break, the men defeated the Brewers 15–12, while the women won 17–10.
“[Vassar and Yale] are really competitive, and we just had a good time,” said captain Rebecca Moss ’10, who is out this season with a back injury. “Overall, all the squads did pretty well… I have as great group of girls to back me up”
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The women swept all three events in Monday night’s competition. Maddy Buxton ’13 led the epee squad to a 5–4 win with an undefeated 3–0 performance. Katharine Pitt ’12 also had an undefeated performance for the foil event, in which the Bulldogs ousted the Brewers 6–3.
“She did a really good job of leading the foil squad,” Moss said of Pitt. “She’s just awesome to have in the fencing ring.”
Maddie Oliver ’13 led the Elis in the saber event contributing two wins to a saber squad that outmatched Vassar 6–3.
The men’s competition was closer than the women’s, but captain and foilist Andrew Holbrook ’10 said John Gurrieri ’10 and Nate Benzrima ’13 were critical for the win. Gurrieri was undefeated in the foil, while Benzrima gave a 3–0 performance in the saber for the Bulldogs.
“[The tournament] was good,” Gurrieri said. “We weren’t using all of our starters, but we still did pretty well.”
Holbrook added that the meet was an opportunity for the team to work on its weak spots before competing in the NYU Invite this coming weekend.
With the win, the men’s team stayed undefeated heading into this coming Saturday’s competition, when the Bulldogs will face six schools, including fellow Ivy League competitor Columbia.