PHILADELPHIA – The Big Red fencing team opened the Daria Schneider era with a trip to the challenging Penn Elite Invitational, where Cornell faced some of the top teams in the country, including three teams that finished in the top five of the 2016 NCAA Fencing Championships – Columbia (first), Notre Dame (fifth), and Ohio State (second).
 
As a team, Cornell was unable to come away with a win, but the epee squad went 19-26 and picked up a pair of victories as it defeated Penn and Notre Dame.
 
The epees were led by All-American Victoria Wines, who finished with a team-best 9-2 record on the day. She was perfect against Notre Dame (3-0) and Columbia (2-0), and posted identical 2-1 decisions vs. Penn and Ohio State. Vera Lin also finished with five victories (5-7), including two against the Quakers, while Rebekah Jones and Juliana Bain each grabbed an important win vs. Notre Dame.
 
"I think as a team we handled ourselves well in a very tough competition," said Wines. "I'm confident that we can continue improving and do better as the season goes on."
 
The saber squad went 13-32 and was led by Regina Chen (4-8) and Zoee D'Costa (4-7) with four victories apiece, while Yelizaveta Sapozhnikov (3-6) chipped in three.
 
"Today was very exciting," said D'Costa. "Our team bonded and learned to support each other in several high stress and high stakes situations.  This team has a lot of potential and a whole season to grow. I'm looking forward to see how not only my performance, but how everyone's changes for the better as the year progresses".
 
The foil squad finished 12-33 on the day, with its best showing coming against the Irish in a narrow 4-5 loss. Luby Kiriakidi was the only Big Red fencer other than Wines to post a winning record (6-5), while returning All-Ivy fencer Gabriella Zusin picked up three wins (3-9).
 
"I realized after a tough first match that this day is about testing our limits as a team and learning about our opponents, and I decided to fuel my bouts not by frustration, but a positive desire to let my best fencing come out," said Kiriakidi. "It was a really fun day and I'm excited to see our team develop as the season goes on."
 
COACH'S CORNER – DARIA SCHNEIDER
The Cornell fencers made us very proud today.  They executed a lot of what we've been practicing during these first two months.  When we traded a much less challenging meet for this elite invitational, one of the hardest meets in college fencing regular season play, we knew we were not setting an easy task before our athletes.  Our goal was to prepare them to stay focused on the task at hand no matter what the circumstances or the score of the match.  As coaches it is important to push our team's limits to see exactly where we stand.  Our fencers did a great job staying in the process and plugging away in the hunt for touch after touch.  We return to Ithaca with a precise plan of what to focus our training on as we prepare for Ivy Championships and Regionals and with the confidence that our athletes can stay cool in high stress situations.
 
Our squad captains, juniors Gabby Zusin in foil and Megan Buteau in sabre, stepped up and took initiative as leaders making strategic decisions and guiding their teammates throughout the challenging day. 
 
Our captain and only starting senior Victoria Wines led a group of freshman, two of whom were walk-ons, to some incredible wins while posting an impressive 9-2 record herself with a plus seventeen indicator in a stacked field.  One of her wins came against last year's Ivy League Champion, Penn's Alejandra Trumble.
 
After taking a hiatus in her sophomore year from competing foil fencer Luby Kiriakidi started out the day with a rough 0-3 bout score against Penn.  However she quickly refocused and turned it around to post a 6-2 record on the rest of the day.  It was a joy to watch her and her teammate's fence.
 
CORNELL RESULTS
Penn def. Cornell, 17-10
Foil: 8-1; Epee: 3-6; Saber: 6-3
Temple def. Cornell, 20-7
Foil: 7-2; Epee: 6-3; Saber: 7-2
Ohio State def. Cornell, 18-9
Foil: 7-2; Epee: 6-3; Saber: 5-4
Notre Dame def. Cornell, 16-11
Foil: 5-4; Epee: 4-5; Saber: 7-2
Columbia vs. Cornell, 20-7
Foil: 6-3; Epee: 7-2; Saber: 7-2
 
Foil Squad (12-33)
Penn: 1-8
Temple: 2-7
Ohio State: 2-7
Notre Dame: 4-5
Columbia: 3-6
 
Foil Members (12-33)
Luby Kiriakidi: 6-5
Gabriella Zusin: 3-9
Rachael Sternlicht: 2-2
Julia Telischi: 1-11
Angela Zhang: 0-6
 
Epee Squad (19-26)
Penn: 6-3
Temple: 3-6
Ohio State: 3-6
Notre Dame: 5-4
Columbia: 2-7
 
Epee Members (19-26)
Victoria Wines: 9-2
Vera Lin: 5-7
Rebekah Jones: 3-7
Juliana Bain: 2-5
Caroline Kleiner: 0-5
 
Saber Squad (13-32)
Penn: 3-6
Temple: 2-7
Ohio State: 4-5
Notre Dame: 2-7
Columbia: 2-7
 
Saber Members (13-32)
Regina Chen: 4-8
Zoee D'Costa: 4-7
Yelizaveta Sapozhnikov: 3-6
Megan Buteau: 2-7
Valerie Tan: 0-4