Yale Athletics

Last Saturday, the Yale men’s and women’s fencing teams secured resounding victories over their opponents at the Vassar Open Invitational.

In the first match of the season, the Dueling Dans took to the piste against 12 opposing schools, earning a record of 5–0 for the men’s team and 6–1 for the women’s. Across the board, Yalies fenced extremely well, with the only loss of the day coming at the hands of Cornell in a 12-15 nailbiter.

“We started really strong even though we were not at our full strength because of the injuries.” Head Coach Marat Isrealian told the News. “The men’s and women’s teams fenced really well, and it was a good day for the freshmen. They did great, and I think it is going to be a very strong year for all of the team.” 

First-year notables Alina Zhang ’28 and Daniel Lee ’28 began their collegiate fencing careers at the invitational with triumphant records, dropping only two bouts each throughout the entire day. 

Amongst the veterans, Helen Tan ’25 had a particularly strong performance, slicing her way to a victorious record with only one bout lost, which helped secure an overall, decisively dominant women’s foil score of 58-5. 

On the men’s side, the épée and sabre squad skewered the competition with scores of 35-10 and 34-11, respectively. 

The only loss against Cornell happened mainly because of an injury-related vacancy in the Yale women’s sabre squad. This led to the forfeit of three points. Despite the loss, three members of the fencing team, plus Isrealian, told the News that the Elis would give the Big Red a run for their money when the squad was at full strength again.

“We did super well on Sunday, putting our best foot forward,” Women’s Team Captain Erica Hooshi ’25 said. “We had high energy and were cheering for each other throughout. We competed as a team, and that was key.”

Yale fencing teams attribute their victorious performances to their camaraderie, citing their support of each other both on and off the piste. 

Audrey Lin ’28 told the News that while the team had to fence a lot that day, it “kept up the energy” and added that she is “proud of the team and proud to be a part of it.” 

The team is next set to compete in the Brandeis Invitational on Sunday, Dec. 8.