Cornell vs. Brown Results
Cornell vs. Columbia Results
Cornell vs. Harvard Results
Cornell vs. Penn Results
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell fencing team ended the first round of competition at the Ivy League Championships sitting in fifth place. After defeating Brown in the team's first match, the Big Red fell to three top-ten teams – Columbia, Harvard, and Penn. Four Big Red fencers finished the day with winning records, including sophomore Rebbecca Hirschfield with a team-best 9-3 record at foil. Senior epee
Katherine Thompson (5-4) and
Tasha Hall (4-4) also have found success in their fourth Ivy League Championship, while freshman
Beverly Yang (6-6) has shown no trepidation in her first time out. Cornell will conclude the Ivy League Championships next weekend in Philadelphia against Princeton and Yale.
CORNELL VS. BROWN
Cornell opened the Ivy League Championship with a 15-12 victory over an experienced Brown squad. Rebecca Hirschfield and the foil squad led the way for Cornell. Hirschfield won all three of her matches and foil went 6-3 overall for the Big Red.
Dana Baines also had two wins in foil, while
Katherine Thompson and
Tasha Hall both went 2-1 to lead the epee team to a 5-4 victory.
Beverly Yang was 2-1 to lead the sabre squad, which fell to the Bears, 5-4.
“I'm very pleased,” said head coach
Iryna Dolgikh. “Brown has very strong fencers but Rebecca (Hirschfeld) was unbeatable and (Katherine) Thompson won an important bout with the score tied, 4-4, to give the epees the victory. Our young sabre squad did very well. They did not win but that is a very good result for freshmen when Brown has older and more experienced fencers.”
CORNELL VS. COLUMBIA
The Big Red struggled against powerhouse Columbia in the second round, losing 21-6. Although all three weapons fell 7-2 respectively, Cornell did not go down without a fight. Yang, fencing in her first Ivy Championship, was phenomenal at sabre. She finished with a 2-1 record vs. the Lions, including 5-2 victories over 2009 first-team All-Ivy selections Sammy Roberts and Stephanie Aiuto. Her only loss was to Daria Schneider where Schneider, who finished third at the NCAA tournament last year, had to overcome a 4-2 deficit to earn the win. Hirschfield was also 2-1 at foil, losing only to 2009 first-team All-Ivy Nicole Ross.
“Columbia has some of the best fencers in the country, so we fenced better than the result,” said Dolgikh. “Many bouts went to 5-3 or 5-4, which is much better than the past. Year by year, we are getting better and our fencers are fighting for every single touch.”
CORNELL VS. HARVARD
The next opponent was not any easier for the Big Red, as it took on the defending Ivy League champion Harvard. Although Cornell lost 18-9, the final score was deceiving of the Big Red performance. Cornell matched Harvard in both foil and epee touch-for-touch, being edged out 5-4 in both weapons. For the third straight match, Hirschfield led all Cornell fencers with a perfect 3-0 record. Only Shelby MacLeod, who qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, was able to get three points on Hirschfield. Thompson had a gutty performance in epee, going 2-1. Thompson's two victories came by a score of 5-4.
After falling in her first two bouts against the Crimson, Yang fought back with an impressive 5-4 victory over Elena Hugiu, in which she battled back from a 4-0 deficit, winning the next five touches. To see video of Yang's comeback,
click here.
The most impressive win of the bout with Harvard came from freshman Christine Robinson, who defeated the 2009 NCAA national runner-up, Naom Mills, 5-2.
“Christine (Robinson) had an outstanding result,” said Dolgikh. “Naom Mills is a top quality fencer and this was an amazing effort by Christine.”
CORNELL VS. PENN
The Big Red concluded the day with another tough opponent in Penn. Cornell managed to compete against the number eight team in the nation, but the Quakers were too difficult a task, winning 17-10.
Dana Baines led a foil squad that was slightly outscored, 5-4. Baines went 2-1, including a shutout over one of the top foils in the Ivy League, Laura Paragano.
Tasha Hall won two of her three matches at epee to keep the score close in a 5-4 loss at that weapon.
“We fenced well individually against a tough Penn squad,” said Dolgikh. "It is a long day with four bouts so many of our young fencers competed against Penn to give them some experience."
