Dec. 4, 2006
NEWARK, NJ - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team competed over the weekend at the 74th annual National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Christmas Invitational. The event, which featured 159 fencers representing 17 colleges and universities, was hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Five of Hopkins 11 entrants reached the finals of their events.
"The NIWFA Christmas Tournament is always a high point of our season," said head coach Jim Murray "It is a challenging close to the first half of our calendar. Placing five fencers in their weapons finals is an indication of both the strength and depth of our team."
Senior Sarah Smilow (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) finished fifth in the Sabre, with sophomore Erica Hartmann (Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair) finishing sixth. Sophomore Alla Brafman (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) finished in 11th place, just missing the finals.
In the Foil, sophomore Grace Fried (Forest Hills, NY/Stuyvesant) took sixth, followed by freshmen Samantha Dolan (S. Pasadena, CA/S. Pasadena) finishing in seventh and Katie Kim (Garden City, NY/Garden City) finishing eighth. Freshman Ying Guo (Fargo, ND/Fargo South) reached the semifinals and finished in 18th place.
Finally, in the Epee, junior
Cindy Liu (Walnut, CA/Walnut) finished in 17th place, followed by senior
Kim Strazdas (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) in 21st. Senior
Joanna Kochaniak (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) took 26th place and sophomore
Lynn Lee (Singapore/Hwa Chong Institution) finished in 39th.
"In the preliminary rounds many of our fencers advanced with 5-0 records," commented Coach Murray "Allowing few hits against them which indicated composure and confidence. In addition to our overall results the team was especially thrilled for Ying Guo's performance, a beginner in September who attained the semi-final in this major event."
Hopkins will take time of the winter break and return to action on January 20 at Haverford.
