WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Haverford College women's fencing team competed at the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championships on the campus of Army-West Point on Saturday. Sophomore sabrist Anna Neuheardt repeated her second-team All-NIWFA accolades from a season ago to headline three qualifiers to the individual championships for the Fords. Haverford placed ninth overall in the team standings.
Neuheardt led Haverford with a 12-4 record against the "A" sabrists, placing second in her pool at the end of the team competition. She was joined by Emily Brown out of the "B" pool for the individual competition. Brown went 10-6 during her pool bouts. Ayesha Bhikha added four more wins to the sabre squad in the "C" pool as that weapon placed ninth overall.
Haverford's epeeists also placed ninth as a weapon squad behind a balanced team effort. Katie Bradley and Lauren Pronger each posted seven victories in the "A" and "B" pools, respectively. Just behind them was Chris Galebinge with six wins in the "C" pool.
Foil finished 10th as a weapon squad, but did advance an individual competitor to the direct elimination bouts as co-captain Alexandra Morrison went 9-7 in the "A" pool. She was matched by co-captain Amira Abujbara who recorded an identical 9-7 record against her "B" pool competition. Brooke Garbarini added two wins to the foilists in the "C" pool.
In the direct elimination bouts, Neuheardt (sabre) and Morrison (foil) both advanced to the quarterfinals of their respective weapons. Neuheardt was credited with a sixth place finish to replicate her All-NIWFA honors from a year ago. Morrison finished seventh in the individual standings to just miss All-NIWFA honors. Brown (sabre) also qualified for the direct elimination bouts to give Haverford two sabrists represented during the individual portion of the event for the first time since the 2013 season.
In addition to the team's success on the strips, Amira Abujbara was named to the NIWFA All-Academic Team.
Women's fencing will now begin preparations for the NCAA Regionals this Saturday, March 11 at Lafayette. Qualified individuals will begin to vie for spots in the national championship starting at 9 a.m.