PHILADELPHIA - On Saturday, January 24th, the Haverford College women's fencing team competed at the Philadelphia Invitational, held at the University of Pennsylvania's Micahnik Fencing Center.
The Fords opened against EWFC rival Johns Hopkins. The duel with the Blue Jays was a hard-fought battle, as demonstrated by six bouts that went four-all. However, Johns Hopkins secured the final touch in each of those matchups, swinging the final score in its favor 21-6.
Next up were the Rangers of Drew University. A 6-3 win from sabre helped lead the Fords to victory in that contest. Drew put up a tough battle but was topped by the Fords, 15-12. NJIT surprised the Fords in the next round, taking down the epee and foil squads 6-3. However, the Fords' sabre squad went 7-2 against the Highlanders as Haverford came up just one bout short, 14-13.
Up against ACC powerhouse Duke in the penultimate match of the day, Juliana Petersen and Alexis Auer each picked up victories in epee. A strong Fairleigh Dickinson team held the upper hand against the Fords in the last round, 18-9. However, a bright spot for this match was Petersen who got momentum back on her side with a perfect 3-0 mark. Petersen's strong finish helped lead all Fords on the day with a 9-6 record, winning four of six four-all bouts.
The Fords will travel to Cambridge, Mass. next weekend for Sunday's Eric Sollee Invitational at MIT.
Johns Hopkins def. Haverford, 21–6
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 8-1
Sabre: 5-4
Haverford def. Drew University, 15–12
Epee: 6-3
Foil: 4-5
Sabre: 5-4
NJIT def. Haverford, 14-13
Epee: 6-3
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 2-7
Duke def. Haverford, 25-2
Epee: 7-2
Foil: 9-0
Sabre: 9-0
FDU def. Haverford, 18-9
Epee: 5-4
Foil: 7-2
Sabre: 6-3