Season overview: Challenging its squad with a traditionally tough scheduled that is laden with Division I programs, the Haverford College women's fencing team accumulated 15 victories during the 2015-16 season. The Fords showed promise early with Leila Braun's run to the finals of the Temple Open. As a team, the Fords began to hit their stride on the home strips as Haverford went a perfect 5-0 inside the Andy Kates Fencing Salle during the Dan Arnstein '09 Invitational and Tri-Co Invitational.
Tough competition awaited the team in January as it competed at the Penn State Invitational and Sollee Invitational. Nevertheless, this experience against some of the top fencing teams in the country served them well as the Fords climbed up to third in this year's EWFC Championship and went on to finish fifth at the NIWFA Championship.
Season Notes: Co-captain Julie Petersen finished her career as a three-time NIWFA and EWFC All-Star in epee. Petersen's career includes three first-team All-EWFC accolades and two first-team All-NIWFA honors. Sofia Tieze earned second-team mention on the EWFC All-Star team for the second time in her career, while Anna Neuheardt earned that honor in her rookie campaign for the Fords. Neuheardt was also a second-team All-NIWFA performer for the sabre squad. Co-captain Leila Braun represented the fencing program at the Ambler Scholar-Athlete Banquet by holding one of the highest GPAs among Haverford's athletes in the Class of 2016. Braun was Haverford's highest placer across all three weapons at the NCAA Regional Championship. The Fords qualified all three sabre fencers to the regional championship for the third time in the past four seasons.
Honors/Awards
NCAA Regional Qualifiers
Leila Braun (20th, epee)
Julie Petersen (30th, epee)
Anna Neuheardt (30th, sabre)
Alexandra Morrison (31st, foil)
Elisabeth Hawthorne (34th, sabre)
Emily Brown (36th, sabre)
All-NIWFA
Anna Neuheardt (second team, sabre)
All-EWFC
Julie Peterson (first team, epee)
Sofia Tieze (second team, sabre)
Anna Neuheardt (second team, sabre)
Ambler Scholar-Athlete
Leila Braun
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team
Leila Braun, Julie Petersen
Looking ahead: The Fords will have to replace experienced co-captains Leila Braun and Julie Petersen, along with NCAA Regional qualifier Elisabeth Hawthorne. However, they will have a strong core of returners who will look to step and fill that void left by graduation. Anna Neuheardt (sabre) returns after a decorated freshman campaign. Regional qualifiers Alexandra Morrison (foil) and Emily Brown (sabre) will also be back in the fold during the 2016-17 season. Sofia Tieze (sabre) will return to a very strong sabre squad that was already one of the Fords' strongest weapons this season.