Results
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third consecutive season, the Big Red will be sending multiple fencers to the NCAA fencing championship on March 25 at Harvard. Senior Katherine Thompson (epee), freshman Addy McDonnell (epee), and freshman Beverly Yang (sabre) all earned their first trip to the tournament, while seniors Tasha Hall, Sallie Deitrich, and Dana Baines finished their impressive four-year careers with a strong showing as well.
In epee, Cornell placed four fencers in the top ten as Thompson led the way with a fifth place finish. She was closely followed by McDonnell, Hall and Detrich, who placed eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. NCAA Regional rules only allow two qualifiers from each school in each weapon, so Thompson and McDonnell will be representing the Big Red at the NCAA Championship.
Thompson, McDonnell, and Christie Robinson received a first round exemption, while Hall and Dietrich breezed through their first round match up. Hall won all four of her bouts while Dietrich went 3-1. The epee crew continued its success into the second round, with all earning a spot in the third round. Hall and Thompson both won five-of-six bouts, while McDonnell won four, Dietrich won three, and Robinson won two.
McDonnell was extremely impressive in the third round. Although she won only three-of-six matches, one victory was against All-Ivy Nell Brandfield-Harvey of Columbia. Thompson won four-of-six bouts, with her only two losses to national runner Noah Mills of Harvard and star freshman Sann Garnes of St. John's. Dietrich won five bouts, including one over teammate Hall, who won four. Both earned a spot in the fourth round. Robinson, in the same pool as Thompson, lost to the national stars and Thompson to be eliminated from the tournament.
The four remaining epees had to compete against each other because only the top two from each school could advance. Although Thompson lost to teammates Hall and Dietrich in close 5-4 bouts, she rebounded nicely, with a victory over Mills. She won a team-high six matches in the final pool. McDonnell added five more to earn the second spot, while Dietrich and Hall both won four. Three of Hall's victories were against her teammates.
Also earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament was Yang who finished eighth overall, while teammate Audrey Speer narrowly missed a spot by one place, finishing in 13th place.
Yang received a first round bye while Speer won all four of her first round matches in impressive fashion, allowing only one touch in the whole round. Both were among 21 fencers promoted to the second round after Yang won five-of-six bouts, while Speer won three. After struggling in the third round, both snuck in with two of the last three spots in the fourth and final round to determine who would compete in the NCAA Tournament.
In the final round of competition, Yang won five bouts, including one over Columbia's Stephanie Auto, to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Speer's three victories were not enough to advance.
Foil was unable to qualify any fencers for the NCAA Tournament despite strong performances from Analise Pellegi, Lucia Rafanelli, Rebecca Hirschfield, and Dana Baines. Pellegi led the Big Red with a 13th place finish, followed by Baines (15th), Hirschfield (22nd) and Rafanelli (36th).
Hirschfield and Baines earned first round byes while Pellegi won three-of-four matches to make it into the second round. Rafanelli was eliminated despite having at least three touches in every bout. Baines and Pellegi won four and three matches, respectively, in the second round to advance, while Hirschfield was eliminated after two victories.
The third round was as far as Baines and Pellegi advanced, as both won only two bouts. Pellegi was one spot away and Baines was three spots from advancing to the final round of competition.
