HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's fencing team placed third at the EWFC Championship and fifth at the NIWFA Championship a season ago. Looking to lead the Fords to greater heights during the 2016-17 season will be an overall young team with veteran leadership spread out across all three weapons. The Fords open their season this Saturday at the Temple Open.
Perhaps no weapon is a greater example of the Fords' young, but talented squad as sabre. The sabre team features two sophomores and a freshman to go along with senior Sofia Tieze, but led the team with a fifth place finish at the NIWFA Championship a season ago. Both of the Fords' returning All-EWFC fencers will contest this weapon as Anna Neuheardt and Tieze were second-team All-EWFC competitors a year ago. Neuheardt was also a second-team All-NIWFA fencer last year.
Neuheardt joined classmate Emily Brown at the NCAA Regional meet in 2016 as the Fords qualified all three fencers in sabre. Haverford will have to replace the graduated Elisabeth Hawthorne '16 but has added freshman Ayesha Bhikha to the sabre team.
Looking to lead the foil squad to a strong showing during the upcoming season will be the Fords' co-captains Amira Abujbara and Alexandra Morrison. Morrison, a junior, has been the Fords' lone qualifier to the NCAA Regional in foil during the past two seasons.
Abujbara, who was named the team's rookie of the year as a freshman, will try to join her co-captain on the regional stage this spring as she looks to make her final season with Haverford her strongest to date. Senior Diana Schoder, a 2015 qualifier to the NCAA Regional, will also compete in foil as the weapon will also welcome freshman Zuyi Wang to the lineup.
Haverford's epee squad matched its sabre counterparts with a fifth place finish at the NIWFA Championships in 2016. However, the Fords will have to replace team co-captains Julie Petersen '16 and Leila Braun '16 from that talented squad. Petersen was a four-time regional qualifier and three-time first-team All-EWFC fencer, while Braun was a three-time regional qualifier and two-time All-EWFC fencer in her own right.
Looking to carry on the tradition left by their predecessors will be the Fords' deepest weapon with six different fencers who will compete in epee. Juniors Lauren Pronger and Amanda Soled will provide the veteran leadership as four newcomers vie to add to the legacy of Haverford's epee. Sophomore Julia Albertson joins the team at the start of her sophomore season, while freshmen Katie Bradley, Chris Galebinge, and Brooke Garbini make up the rest of this year's epee fencers.
Women's fencing saw an increase to 15 dual victories a season ago and will be looking to continue that rise this season. The Fords' third place finish at the EWFC Championship matched the team's showing at the 2014 championship meet.
Haverford will compete in a total of nine meets before the NCAA Regional Championship. The Fords will host their only two home meets of the year during the fall semester as they take part in both the Dan Arnstein '09 Invitational (Nov. 19) and Tri-Co Invitational (Dec. 3) during the upcoming season. Haverford will also welcome back its alumnae during the spring semester for the annual Alumnae Match/Banquet on Saturday, February 11. The EWFC Championship is set for Feb. 19, while the NIWFA Championship will be the following weekend (Feb. 26).