PHILADELPHIA – A multitude of fencers turned in strong performances this past weekend as Cornell women's fencing went 5-1 at the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Big Red handily defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, NJIT, Lafayette, Duke and Haverford, with the team's lone loss coming narrowly against No. 10-ranked Penn. Overall, Cornell finished with a combined record of 125-37. Big Red foils finished 46-8 to lead the team, while the sabers went 43-11 and the epees were 36-18.
 
A 5-1 weekend improved Cornell's season tally to 14-3 overall. The Big Red owned an 11-match winning streak prior to a loss to Penn.
 
Cornell opened its day with three dominant performances, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson (24-3), NJIT (21-6) and Lafayette (25-2). The Big Red was defeated by Penn, 14-13 in the fourth match of the day, despite holding a 6-3 advantage over the Quakers in both the foil and saber. Penn used an 8-1 mark in the epee to defeat Cornell.
 
The Big Red bounced back in its final two matches of the day, first defeating Duke, 16-11, before trouncing Haverford by a final score of 26-1. It's the first time Cornell has defeated Duke since a 16-11 victory over the Blue Devils on Jan. 26, 2014.
 
Leading the Big Red in individual victories were Marissa Viqueira (15-0) and Grace Ding (15-3), who each finished the day with 15 wins. Also with double-digit wins were Kristen Wong (13-3), Briana Parris (11-1), Amit Handari-Levy (11-1) and Maddy Limb (10-1). Viqueira was the lone member of the squad to finish her day undefeated, while Handari-Levy and Limb each lost just once.
 
In total, 14 members of the Cornell team finished the day with records above the .500 mark. Also posting winning records were Madeleine Nishimura, Caroline Lee, Gabrielle Hill, Sage Demopoulos, Megan Eno, Emily Gao, Marigot Fackenthal and Gillian Harrill.
 
Up Next
Competition resumes for the Big Red on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Ill.
 
CORNELL RESULTS
Cornell def. Fairleigh Dickinson, 24-3
Foil: 9-0; Epee: 6-3; Saber: 9-0
Cornell def. NJIT, 21-6
Foil: 7-2; Epee: 8-1; Saber: 6-3
Cornell def. Lafayette, 25-2
Foil: 9-0; Epee: 7-2; Saber: 9-0
Penn def. Cornell, 14-13
Foil: 6-3; Epee: 1-8; Saber: 6-3
Cornell def. Duke, 16-11
Foil: 6-3; Epee: 6-3; Saber: 4-5
Cornell def. Haverford, 26-1
Foil: 9-0; Epee: 8-1; Saber: 9-0
 
Foil Squad (46-8)
Fairleigh Dickinson: 9-0
NJIT: 7-2
Lafayette: 9-0
Penn: 6-3
Duke: 6-3
Haverford: 9-0
 
Foil Members (46-8)
Marissa Viqueira: 15-0
Grace Ding: 15-3
Briana Parris: 11-1
Madeleine Nishimura: 5-4

Epee Squad (36-18)
Fairleigh Dickinson: 6-3
NJIT: 8-1
Lafayette: 7-2
Penn: 1-8
Duke: 6-3
Haverford: 8-1
 
Epee Members (36-18)
Gabrielle Hill: 8-4
Emily Gao: 5-4
Megan Eno: 9-2
Caroline Lee: 9-4
Kalyn McGuire: 0-2
Sage Demopoulos: 5-2
 
Saber Squad (43-11)
Fairleigh Dickinson: 9-0
NJIT: 6-3
Lafayette: 9-0
Penn: 6-3
Duke: 4-5
Haverford: 9-0
 
Saber Members (43-11)
Kristen Wong: 13-3
Amit Handari-Levy: 11-1
Maddy Limb: 10-1
Gillian Harrill: 5-3
Marigot Fackenthal: 4-3