MADISON, N.J. - This past Saturday, March 2, the women's fencing team participated in the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championship at Drew University in Madison, NJ. The NIWFA, established in 1929, stands as the oldest intercollegiate championship for women in any sport.
The Haverford team secured the ninth position out of 16 teams; Temple University, a DI powerhouse, claimed the overall victory, while Johns Hopkins clinched the DIII title. The competition followed a round-robin format of teams in IFA format, consisting of one bout per player, per school, totaling nine bouts per match. Based on these team results, 16 fencers in each weapon earned the opportunity to compete in the Individual portion of the day.
The Fords' overall performance heavily relied on the sabre squad, securing an eighth place finish. A-strip sabrist Rebecca Osbaldeston excelled with eight wins, including the sole victory against JHU's A-strip, earning her a spot in the Individual tournament where she placed 10th, narrowly missing All-Conference honors. Teammate Carter Wood from the B strip also qualified for the individual event, finishing 15th. The individual sabre event was won by Tufts' Mina Chioldi, while Temple claimed the squad win.
The Haverford épée squad achieved a 14th place finish, garnering 11 individual wins in the team event, contributed by A-strip Nina Hamilton and C-Strip Sophie Stamicar. The overall épée championship was secured by the College of William and Mary. The Ford's foil squad achieved a ninth place finish overall, with A-strip Sophie Gardiner leading the team with 11 wins in 15 bouts on the day. Gardiner advanced to the Individual round, where she defeated Drew's Assata Mutakabir in her first direct elimination bout before falling to JHU's Juliana Wu, securing a seventh place finish and earning second-team All-Conference honors. Temple emerged victorious in both the team and individual (Anna Novoseltseva) foil events.
While this tournament concluded the regular fencing season, several team members have qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships, scheduled for the upcoming Saturday, March 9, right back at Drew University. Haverford's 2024 Regional participants include foilist Gardiner; epeeist Hamilton; and swing player Nina Chafee; along with sabrists Osbaldeston and Wood. They all aim to progress to the NCAA National Championships, taking place this year from March 21 to March 24 at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.