Nov. 1, 2006
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team opened up the season with a strong showing at the Temple Open last weekend. Senior Sarah Smilow (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) and sophomore Erica Hartmann (Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair) just missed out on the final round in the Sabre.
"The Temple Open is the first event on the fencing calendar," said head coach James Murray. "It serves as an eye opener for the new fencers to the college scene, and for the returners, it is a good test of strength against well known opponents."
Hartmann finished in 14th in the Sabre, just one win away from making it to the final round. Smilow finished in 16th, also just one win away from the final round. Freshmen Alla Brafman (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) and Jessie Demois (Pittsburg, PA) each had strong outings in their first collegiate meets. Brafman finished in 20th place, with a come-from-behind win. Brafman was down 4-8 and came back to win 15-14. Demoise finished in 52nd out of a 70+ field of competitors, with just a month of fencing experience under her belt.
In the Foil, sophomore Grace Fried (Forest Hills, NY/Stuyvesant) finished in 15th. Freshmen Samantha Dolan (S. Pasadena, CA/S. Pasadena) and Katie Kim (Garden City, NY/Garden City) finished in 24th and 34th respectively. In the field of 66 in the Foil, freshmen Hana Bao (Sharon, MA/Boston University Academy), Jennifer Tsuan and Ying Guo (Fargo, ND/Fargo South) finished 41st, 56th and 61st respectively.
In the Epee, Hopkins was led by junior Cindy Liu (Walnut, CA/Walnut) with a 24th place finish. Senior Kim Strazdas (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) took 32nd, followed by sophomore Lynn Lee (Singapore/Hwa Chong Institution) in 61st and freshman Connie Vogelman (Sioux Falls, SD/Roosevelt) in 70th out of 76.
Comparing Hopkins' results across the three weapons, the Blue Jays has the highest combined finish of any participating Division III school. Next up for Hopkins is the Penn State Open, November 4.
