PHILADELPHIA -- The No. 10 ranked Cornell women's fencing team moved to 7-1 on the new year after a successful outing at the Philadelphia Invitational hosted by Penn on Saturday, earning a 4-1 record. The Big Red's highlight on the day came against Duke, as it defeated the No. 9 Blue Devils by a 15-12 margin for its third win over a ranked opponent this season. The team's three other wins each came by seven points or more, as it downed Lafayette (26-1), John Hopkins (17-10), and Fairleigh Dickinson (27-0). Cornell's lone loss on the afternoon came in a tight battle with its Ivy League foe in Penn, as the No. 7 Quakers squeaked out a 14-13 win, thanks to 5-4 scores in epee and sabre.

Twenty-one fencers competed on the day for the red and white, earning at least one victory in a 91-36 combined individual record across the three weapons. Cornell's epee unit led the way, as each of the team's six fencers was above .500 en route to a 33-11 combined record. Sophomore Mallika Ketkar led the way for the Big Red with the weapon, putting forward an impressive 8-1 showing, while Natalie Leung (8-3) and sister Ketki Ketkar (6-2) followed right behind. Sliding right behind epee was the foil squad at 31-14. Asherah Horsley led the unit overall, as last season's lone NCAA championship representative for the Big Red earned a 9-1 record. Other top performers in sabre included senior Molly Veerkamp and Meeah Bradford, who put together a combined 11-4 record. 

Finally, Cornell's sabre squad was led by upperclassmen, as seniors Sterre Hoogendoorn (5-0) and Stella Berman (6-2) led the weapon to a 27-11 overall record. Erika Chin also stood out on the strip, picking up where she left off last weekend in Massachusetts with a 6-2 performance to round out the top scores in sabre.

With Saturday's results, Cornell moves to 19-2 overall. The Big Red will have next weekend off before returning to action when it travels to Illinois for the Northwestern Duals hosted by the Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 3-Sunday, Feb. 4. Last season, the Big Red earned an 8-2 record in its trip to the Land of Lincoln, including ranked wins over No. 1 Notre Dame (16-11) and No. 11 Temple (15-12). 
 

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TEAM RESULTS

#10 CORNELL 26, LAFAYETTE 1
Foil: 9-0
Epee: 8-1
Sabre: 9-0

#10 CORNELL 17, JOHN HOPKINS 10
Foil: 4-5
Epee: 7-2
Sabre: 6-3

#7 PENNSYLVANIA 14, #10 CORNELL 13
Foil: 4-5
Epee: 4-5
Sabre: 5-4

#10 CORNELL 15, #9 DUKE 12
Foil: 5-4
Epee: 5-4
Sabre: 5-4

#10 CORNELL 27, FARLEIGH DICKINSON 0
Foil: 9-0
Epee: 9-0
Sabre: 9-0

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Epee: 33-11
Ketki Ketkar: 6-2
Mallika Ketkar: 8-1
Clarice Lim: 4-1
Natalie Leung: 8-3
Emma Ni: 3-3
Nora Weber: 4-2

Foil: 31-14
Alexandra Abayeva: 4-1
Meeah Bradford: 6-1
Renata Chusid: 2-3
Asherah Horsley: 9-1
Mia Jo: 1-4
Molly Veerkamp: 7-3
Rei Weintraub: 2-1

Sabre: 27-11
Stella Berman: 6-2
Emma Brown: 2-1
Erika Chin: 5-2
Sterre Hoogendoorn: 5-0
Mia Hsu: 3-0
Sarah Lacson: 3-1
Keona Moya: 1-5
Fiona Neibart: 2-0