1926
A women’s fencing club was established at Cornell and was almost immediately competitive in intercollegiate meets.
1929
Cornell, in collaboration with NYU, Bryn Mawr, and Penn, establish the Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association (IWFA). Cornell hosts the first IWFA championship, finishing as runner-up to NYU.
1930
Cornell, coached by Francois Darrieulat, wins the IWFA foil team championship. Darrieulat is the first coach ever to win titles in the IFA and IWFA. Elizabeth Ross ’30 wins the IWFA foil individual championship. Alrene Vanderhof ’31 and Jacqueline Darrieulat ’32 join Ross in winning the team title.
1931
Elizabeth Ross ’30 retains the IWFA foil individual championship, becoming the first two-time champion in IWFA history.
1942
Grace Acel ’44 retains the IWFA foil individual championship, defending the title she had won the previous year while attending William & Mary.
1943
Once again, Grace Acel ’44 wins the IWFA foil individual championship, becoming the first and only three-time winner in the organization’s 68-year history.
1955
Grace Acel Hillyer Anderson ’44 represents the United States at the 1955 Pan-American Games and takes sixth place in the individual foil event.
1963
Michael Sebastiani becomes the head coach of the Cornell women’s fencing team and serves as an assistant for the men’s squad.
1967
Coached by Sebastiani, Cornell wins the IWFA championship. Team members include Karen Denton ’68, Suzanne Gearhart ’68, Carole Marcus ’67, and Sarah Nellis ’67.
1968
Sebastiani leads the Big Red to its second straight IWFA championship. Team members include Karen Denton ’68, Laura Dingle ’70, Mary Menke ’69, and Suzanne Gearhart ’68. Denton also takes home the IWFA foil individual championship.
1969
Cornell and Sebastiani take home the IWFA championship for the third straight year. Team members include Laura Dingle ’70, Mary Menke ’69, Kathy Richert ’70, and Kathy Keller ’69.
1971
The IWFA changes its name to the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association (NIWFA).
1972
Cornell, coached by Raoul Sudre and Jean-Jacques Gillet, wins the NIWFA championship. Team members include Peggy Walbridge ’74, Kathy Stevenson ’75, Laura Budofsky ’74, and Mary Sebring ’73. Stevenson and Walbridge are both named first team All-Americans.
1973
Cornell repeats as NIFWA champions. Team members include Peggy Walbridge ’74, Kathy Stevenson ’75, Laura Budofsky ’74, and Mary Sebring ’73. Walbridge repeats as a first-team All-American, while Kathy Stevenson and Mary Sebring earn second-team honors.
1974
Cornell hosts the 46th NIWFA championships at Barton Hall and takes a runner-up finish to California State-Fullerton in the team event by two bouts. Peggy Walbridge ’74 wins the NIWFA foil individual championship and becomes Cornell’s first and only three-time first-team All-American selection.
1976
Jean-Jacques Gillet becomes the head coach of both Cornell teams, serving from 1976-88. That same year, Gillet is named the U.S. Olympic coach for the Montreal games. Susan Kruse is named a second team All-American.
1977
One season after earning All-American honors while attending Brandeis University, Rebecca Bilodeau is named a second team All-American.
1978
Rebecca Bilodeau repeats as a second team All-American selection. Peggy Walbridge ’74, a three-time All-American who won the national championship in 1974, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1979
Grace Acel Hillyer Anderson ’44, a three-time IWFA champion, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1980
Michelle Sonnenfeld is named a first team All-American.
1982
The fencing sale in Teagle Hall is converted to other uses by the athletic department, and the fencing team moves to Helen Newman Hall. Christine Hamori ’85 earns first-team All-American honors after finishing fourth at the national championship. J. Elizabeth Ross Moore ’30, an IWFA champion in 1930 and 1931, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1983
Christine Hamori repeats as an All-American, earning a second team selection, along with Sio Moss.
1984
Christine Hamori becomes just the second fencer in Cornell women’s history to be named a three-time All-American, earning her second first team selection. Sio Moss also repeats as a second team All-American honoree.
1985
Christine Hamori ’85 becomes Cornell’s first-ever first team All-Ivy selection.
1986
Constance Cook ’41, captain of the 1941 fencing team, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1988
Graeme Jennings becomes the head coach of both Cornell teams.
1990
Karen Denton ’68, an individual IWFA champion in 1968 and a member of two team IWFA championships, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1991
Coached by both Graeme Jennings and John Helmich, the Big Red wins the NIWFA championship. Team members include Martina Sourada ’92, Dawn Mulhern ’92, Kim Charlton ’94, and Sharmi Das ’94.
1992
Cornell repeats as NIWFA champions. Team members include Martina Sourada ’92, Dawn Mulhern ’92, Kim Charlton ’94, and Sharmi Das ’94.
1994
Kim Charlton ’94 wins the NIWFA foil individual championship.
1995
Albert Peters becomes the head coach of the Big Red. Katherine Stevenson Walker ’75, a first team All-American in 1972 and a second-team selection in 1973, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
1996
The Andrew P. Stifel fencing salle opens in the lower level of Bartels Hall. Cornell finishes as runner-up at the NIWFA championship.
1998
Nancy Allen ‘99 represented the Big Red at the 1998 NCAA championships at Notre Dame.
2001
Al Peters squad posts the best record during his tenure, going 12-8 on the season. Ellyn Rajfer ’01 and Roopa Ranji ’01 competed at the 2001 NCAA championships in Kenosha, Wis.
2003
Meghan Phair ’06 became the first Big Red women’s fencer to earn All-America status in 19 years when she placed sixth at the NCAAs to earn a first team selection. Phair also became the first Cornell women’s fencer to earn first-team All-Ivy accolades in 18 years. Christine Hamori ’85, a four-year competitor in the NCAA tournament and two-time All-American, is inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
2004
For the second straight season, Meghan Phair ’06 is named first team All-American with a fourth-place performance. Ivana Zgaljic ’07 also competed at the championships.
2005
Ivana Zgaljic ’07 made a repeat appearance at the NCAA championships.
2006
Iryna Dolgikh, a former world champion fencer, becomes the Big Red fencing coach. In her first season, Cornell snaps a 65-match losing skid to Ancient Eight foes with a 15-12 victory over Brown. Meghan Phair ’06 and Alexandra Heiss ’09 earn spots at the NCAA championships and help Cornell finish 14th overall.
2007
The Big Red posted its first winning season in dual meet action in six years, earning a record of 9-4. The team also finished fourth in the Ivy League, its best finish in 16 seasons. The team took a seventh-place finish at the 2007 IFA championships, and Dolgikh coached Alexandra Heiss ’09 to a 13th-place finish in the NCAA tournament.
2008
The season was the most successful yet under Coach Dolgikh as the squad finished fourth among women’s teams at the IFA championships. The team had five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, as Jessica Tranquada ‘11 (foil), Sallie Dietrich ‘10 (epee), Tasha Hall ‘10 (epee), and Alex Heiss ’09 (saber) qualified for the NCAA Championships. Those four fencers gave Cornell an 11th-place finish at the championships. Individually, Alexandra Heiss ’09 became the third women’s fencer in school history to earn All-Ivy honors, as she picked up second-team accolades after leading the Big Red saber squad in Ivy League competition.
2009
Epeeist Katherine Thompson ’10 is named second team All-Ivy after finishing the conference tournament with a record of 13-5. In her first season with the Big Red, Rebecca Hirschfeld ’12 takes the bronze medal in the IFA individual foil championship.
2010
Dolgikh helped to mentor Rebecca Hirschfeld '12 to a second team All-Ivy selection before sending 11 fencers to participate in the NCAA Regionals, a team-high during her tenure. Of those 11 fencers, five placed in the top 20, and three advanced to the NCAA tournament, where the Big Red finished 14th overall. Cornell's top finisher at the NCAA tournament was Beverly Yang '13, who took 17th in her first postseason outing.
2011
During the 2010-11 season, a pair of freshmen – Christine McIntosh and April Whitney – advanced to the 2011 NCAA championship. The duo led the Big Red to a 17th-place finish overall as McIntosh took 14th place, becoming Cornell's highest finisher at NCAAs since 2008, while Whitney finished 18th overall.
2012
Cornell posted a 13-10 record overall. The Big Red placed 13th as a team at the 2012 NCAA championships. Once again, Whitney and McIntosh led the way, placing 14th and 18th, respectively, while McIntosh was honored with the NCAA Elite 89 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average participating at the NCAA championship finals site.
2013
The Big Red posted the best record in program history, going 18-7 overall. The team also finished fifth in the Ivy League with a mark of 2-4 with victories over Penn and Yale. Cornell placed 19th overall at the 2013 NCAA championships, thanks to Angelica Gangemi '16 who took 14th place overall, while April Whitney '14 placed 17th. Off the strip, Christine McIntosh '14 (foil) earns CosSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
2014
During the 2013-14 campaign, Dolgikh picked up her 100th career victory as the Big Red went 16-8 overall and 2-4 in the Ivy League to rank fifth overall in the conference standings. Under her direction, Victoria Wines ’17 became just the third fencer in Big Red history to be named first team All-Ivy after going 15-3 and placing third in the epee competition. Wines and Angelica Gangemi ’16 advanced to the NCAA tournament, finishing 14th and 16th, respectively, as the Big Red placed 20th overall in the team standings.
2015
Cornell completed the 2014-15 season with a 16-8 record and a mark of 2-4 in the Ivy League to finish in fifth place in the conference standings. The Big Red started the season with a bang, as three fencers – Victoria Wines, Olivia Weller, and Angelica Gangemi – earned medals at the 35th annual Temple Open, the largest individual collegiate tournament in the nation. That was just the beginning of a stellar sophomore season for Wines, who went on to become the first Big Red fencer in the history of the women's program to earn back-to-back first team All-Ivy accolades when she finished third overall in the epee at the 2015 Ivy League Round Robin with a record of 13-5. She then placed first among 58 epee fencers to earn the gold medal at the 2015 NCAA Northeast Regional, while Weller (10th – epee) and Ediona Sera (10th – foil) also finished in the top 10. Wines, Gangemi, and Sera were selected to participate in the NCAA Fencing Championships. Wines finished the competition tied for third place, the highest finish at the NCAA Fencing Championship in school history, to earn the bronze medal and become the Big Red's first All-American since Meghan Phair took fourth place and earned All-American honors in 2004. Additionally, in the foil competition, Sera and Gangemi finished in 22nd and 24th place, respectively, helping the Big Red to a 17th-place team finish.
2016
In Dolgikh’s final season, Cornell went 16-8 overall (2-4 Ivy). For the first time in program history, the Big Red had multiple fencers earn All-Ivy distinction, as senior Angelica Gangemi, junior Victoria Wines, and sophomore Gabriella Zusin took home second-team honors. Wines went on to place second among 56 epee fencers to earn the silver medal at the 2016 NCAA Northeast Regional, while four others place in the top 10 – Zoee D'Costa (fifth – saber), Ediona Sera (sixth – foil), Zusin (seventh – foil), and Gangemi (10th – foil). Gangemi, the first Big Red fencer to participate in four NCAA Championships, placed 13th overall at NCAAs, the highest finish of her career. Wines also paced 13t in the epee competitions, while Sera took placed 19th overall in foil, while D'Costa took 24th place in saber.
2017
In head coach Daria Schneider’s first season, the Big Red went 19-13 overall (2-4 Ivy) and finished 15th overall at the NCAA Championship. During the season Cornell posted two major victories, defeating St. John’s for the first time since 1992 and upsetting No. 9 Temple to beat the Owls for the first time since 1979. Under her direction, Victoria Wines became the first four-time All-Ivy selection in Cornell history. Wines also took home a silver medal from the NCAA Northeast Regional, finding her way to the podium in each of her four seasons. In addition to Wines' outstanding finish, the Big Red had two others place in the top 10 – Luby Kiriakidi (fifth – foil) and Gabriella Zusin (ninth – foil). Cornell placed 15th overall at the 2017 NCAA Fencing Championships, with all three Big Red participants finishing in the top 20. Zusin and Kiriakidi placed 16th and 17th in the foil competition, while Wines took 18th in epee.
2018
Following the 2017-18 season, head coach Daria Schneider was named the Ivy League Co-Coach of the Year after she guided the Big Red fencers to strong efforts at the Fencing Round-Robins. Cornell had four top-10 finishes in both saber and foil and of the four fencers, three were freshmen recruited by Schneider, including All-Ivy selection Marissa Viqueira. Three of Cornell's top-10 finishers competed in the foil, a squad that earned victories over No. 4 Princeton, No. 9 Penn, Brown, and Yale, while handing Ivy Champion Columbia's foil squad 50 percent of its losses for the entire competition.
2019
In a season with two tournaments canceled due to inclement weather, the Big Red turned in outstanding individual performances at the Ivy League Round Robin, the NCAA Northeast Regional, and the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Megan Eno became just the fourth fencer in Big Red history to earn first-team All-Ivy honors when she placed third in the epee competition at the 2019 Ivy League Fencing Round-Robin. She went on to take a silver medal at the Northeast Regional and captured honorable mention All-America honors with a ninth-place finish at the national tournament. Cornell had two All-Americans for the first time since 1984, as Esther Bentolila took sixth place overall in the saber competition and named to the second team. The two top 10 finishes by Eno and Bentolila marked the first time in program history that two individuals finished in the top 10 of their respective weapon, while the team's 14th place finish was the highest by Cornell in the NCAA era. Freshman Gillian Harrill also participated in the NCAA tournament and took 16th place in the saber competition.
2020
Led by first-year head coach Ariana Klinkov, the Big Red posted season for the record books, highlighted by a program-best 24-10 record, the first time the women's fencing program has eclipsed 20 victories in a season. Klinkov aided the Big Red to a 14-13 win over No. 1-ranked Princeton at the Northwestern Duals, marking the program's first win over Princeton since Feb. 8, 1992. Under Klinkov's watch, Cornell placed three fencers on the All-Ivy squads, marking the first time Cornell produced multiple All-Ivy fencers since 2016. It was the fourth time a Big Red team had done it in program history. Cornell qualified three fencers for the 2020 NCAA Championships following their performances at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Madeleine Nishimura (Foil), Megan Eno (Epee), and Ying Cao (Foil) all earned spots at the championships.
2022
Cornell has another record-breaking year under Klinkov, besting its previous program record with 33 dual wins compared to just five losses. The Big Red started the season hot, winning 32 consecutive dual matches and slaying 11 ranked opponents. That run is now the longest win streak to begin a season by a Cornell varsity team in any sport. One of the highlight competitions came in the Northwestern Duals, where the Big Red went 13-0 and knocked off seven ranked teams, including No. 2 Notre Dame. Cornell has five fencers over the three weapons that qualify for the NCAA Championships in Esther Bentolila (sabre), Megan Eno and Gabrielle Hill (epee), Renata Chusid, and Asherah Horsley. Eno finishes sixth in epee at the championships to earn her third career All-American honors, and Cornell finishes ninth as a team at the championships.
2023
The Big Red continues its success with a 26-9 mark. Cornell's top victory was historical, knocking off No. 1 Notre Dame at the Northwestern Duals, 16-11. Its victory over the Fighting Irish is the second time under Ariana Klinkov that the top team in the country fell to her squad. The Big Red also posts a 5-4 record against ranked opponents in the regular season. Cornell finishes with a 1-5 mark at the Ivy League Round Robins hosted in Barton Hall, defeating No. 8 Yale in the final dual. Asherah Horsley '24 is the lone Big Red fencer to qualify for the NCAA Championships after finishing fifth in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Cambridge. The junior grabs 16th overall in foil in the 2023 championships hosted by Duke University, besting her 20th-place finish from the year prior.
2024
Cornell completed the 2023-24 season with the second-most wins in a season in program history with a 30-8 mark. The Big Red also finished sixth in the final Ivy League standings and posted a 7-6 record against ranked opponents. Two of Cornell's ranked victories were over teams in the top five in No. 2 Notre Dame at the Northwestern Duals and No. 5 Northwestern at the Tufts University Invitational. Ketki Ketkar '26 (first team epee) and Stella Berman '24 (second team sabre) earn All-Ivy honors at the Ivy Fencing Championship. Eight Big Red fencers finished in the top 20 at the 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional hosted by Long Island University, headlined by Ketkar finishing first out of 54 competitors in epee. Alongside Ketkar's automatic qualification spot, Berman and Isabela Carvalho '27 participate in sabre for the 2024 NC Fencing Championships hosted by Ohio State. Ketkar brings home a share of third place at the championships to become the first Big Red fencer to earn a first team All-American nod since Victoria Wines in 2015. Berman and Carvalho also finish inside the top 20 in sabre to push Cornell to an 11th-place finish.
