ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell fencing team will take a step up in competition when it competes in the Brandeis Invitational this weekend in Waltham, Mass. Cornell will fence on Sunday against teams from Boston College, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, St. John's, MIT and Brandeis.

The last competition prior to the holiday break, the Big Red will look for continued excellence under head coach Iryna Dolgikh.  The last time out, Cornell went a perfect 8-0 at the Sacred Heart Invitational, going 173-43 in individual bouts. Both the foil and sabre squads went undefeated, while the epees posted a 6-2 record on the day. Individually, freshman Angelica Gangemi went a perfect 19-0, while senior Audrey Speer (22-1) and junior Christine McIntosh (19-1) had just one blemish on their record. 

This week the Big Red will face a St. John's team that was ranked No. 3 a year ago, as well as North Carolina, Boston College and Brandeis squads that were just outside the top 10.   Cornell has a long history of dual meets with each of the team, posting a combined 72-40 career record against the field: Boston College -- 11-3, North Carolina -- 13-9, Johns Hopkins -- 12-0, St. John's -- 5-9, MIT -- 12-12 and Brandeis -- 19-7.