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2019-20 Season Review 

Entering the 2019-20 season with a young squad, the Haverford College women's fencing team began to witness that young potential build the foundation to becoming the next generation of star fencers. Continually improving throughout the year, Haverford capped its season with four EWFC All-Stars (all which will return to next year's team), an NIWFA All-Star, and two regional qualifiers. Haverford's improvement was measurable with results against opponents such as Wagner where Haverford lost by an 18-9 score during the first meet of the season but won that matchup 15-12 when those squads met just two months later. There are numerous other examples where the Fords closed the gap against other foes in subsequent meetings while widening the margin of victory during others.

That all led up to the postseason where Sarah Blossom (epee), Maia Carvalho (epee), Caroline Donado (sabre), and Hanna Kopits (foil) earned their EWFC All-Start status. Donado did so in her first-year while Blossom and Carvalho earned those accolades during following strong sophomore campaigns. Kopits became a three-time EWFC All-Star in as many seasons during her junior year. She went on to earn NIWFA All-Star status while Carvalho and Donado represented the Fords at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Championship, the toughest regional across all NCAA fencing.

Season Notes: Haverford improved its win total by four dual victories throughout the 2019-20 season … Hanna Kopits is now a three-time EWFC All-Star for the foil squad while twice earning All-NIWFA status … Only inclement weather during the 2019 NIWFA Championships has kept Kopits from the chance of being a three-time all-star at both competitions … Maia Carvalho also advanced to the direct elimination bouts of the NIWFA Championships this year and is a two-time EWFC All-Star heading into her junior season … Carvalho led the Fords with a 28th place finish at the regional championships, a six-spot improvement from when she qualified during her rookie season … Sarah Blossom and Caroline Donado earned All-EWFC status for the first time in their careers, while Donado also placed 32nd at the regional sabre championships during her standout first-year.

Team Honors

Looking ahead: Those four standouts headline a returning team full of potential for the coming years. While the Fords will be without the outstanding leadership of two-time EWFC All-Star Katie Bradley and team captain Zuyi Wang, the foundation is in place for the Fords to continue their trajectory up the postseason standings. Bradley departs from an epee squad that will return co-captain Claire Cai next year after she studied abroad during the spring semester. Yuqin Wu also gained valuable experience for that weapon squad in addition to Blossom and Carvalho's exploits. Kopits leads a foil squad that also features Golda Glasser who advanced to the direct elimination bouts at the NIWFA Championship. The foilists will also return first-years Ceanne Lyon and Lillian Sweeney who gained valuable experience. The entire sabre squad will be back for at least two more years as sophomores Macy Brooks, Sofia Nicolayevsky, and Maria Yea fenced alongside first-years Donado and Megan Heflinger this past season.

 

2019-20 Season Outlook

The Haverford College women's fencing team has seen numerous individuals step into the lineup early in their collegiate careers and find immediate success. The Fords will look to build on that positive experience during the 2019-20 campaign as Haverford returns four regional qualifiers this winter.

Haverford qualified all three of its epeeists to the 2019 NCAA Regional Championships and those returners are poised to reach greater heights on the strips this winter. Senior Katie Bradley has qualified to the regional championship during each of her first three seasons and has twice been named an EWFC All-Star.

Sophomores Sarah Blossom and Maia Carvalho provided an immediate boost to the Haverford epeeists last year with breakout campaigns. Blossom, the team's Rookie of the Year in 2018-29, led all Haverford fencers with a 24th-place finish at the regional championship, while Carvalho joined squadmate Bradley as an EWFC All-Star during her rookie campaign. Nevertheless, Haverford's epee can also showcase great depth as junior co-captain Claire Cai advanced to the direct elimination round of the EWFC Championships. First-year Yuqin Wu adds yet another option to a squad with plenty of returning experience already in the fold.

Sophomore Golda Glasser leads Haverford's foil squad as a returning regional qualifier in that weapon. Glasser also qualified to the direct elimination draw at the EWFC Championships last season. Entering her second season as team captain, senior Zuyi Wang hit the ground running during the spring semester last year after studying abroad in the fall. She won nine bouts at the EWFC Championships after fencing the "B" slot in the lineup. Junior Jia-Ming Tuan, who will return from her semester abroad in the spring, will bolster a foil squad where she fenced the "C" slot during. First-years Ceanne Lyon and Lillian Sweeney add to the depth of that squad looking to make an immediate impact.

Haverford's sabre squad was hit the hardest by graduation losses as both NIWFA Women of the Year Anna Neuheardt and regional qualifier Emily Brown wrapped up their stellar careers last winter. Looking to carry on their tradition will be a young squad comprised of three sophomores and two first-years. Macy Brooks, Sofia Nicolayevsky, and Maria Yea all got to experience postseason fencing last year at the EWFC Championships. They will be joined by first-years Caroline Donado and Megan Heflinger on the sabre strips this winter.

Women's fencing opens the 2019-20 campaign at the Temple Open on Saturday, November 2. The Fords will host the Dan Arnstein '09 Invitational on Saturday, November 16 during their only home duals other than the annual Alumni Bouts/Reception on Saturday, January 25. This 2019-20 season will mark head coach Chris Spencer's 13th season leading the Fords. Already the winningest coach in program history for both genders, Spencer has led the women's team to the 2009 EWFC Championship and the NIWFA Division III Championships during the 2008 and 2014 seasons.

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