Dec. 8, 2008

JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team had a medalist in all three weapons at the 77th annual NIWFA Christmas Invitational on Sunday, led by freshman Lauren Chinn's (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) win in the Epee. Sophomore Mary Vitale (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees) won silver in the Sabre and senior Grace Fried (Forest Hills, NY/Stuyvesant) won bronze in the Foil.

"Lauren had a series of exciting bouts all day, in some cases having to come from behind to win at 5-4" said head coach James Murray.

Chinn finished the finals tied with Katie Galpin of Drew University, forcing a fence-off. Chinn defeated Galpin 5-2 to claim the Betty Santelli Trophy. Freshman Nicole Salter (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) had a solid performance on the day, finishing in fifth place. Also competing was sophomore Corinne Warren (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe), who finished in 25th place out of 42 competitors.

In the Sabre, Vitale led a quartet of Blue Jays in the top-35 with her second place finish. Sophomore Alysson Mondoro (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) reached the semifinals and placed 14th. Freshman Katie Herman (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley Regional) took 21st while sophomore Adiya Katseff (Manalapan, NJ/Freehold) took 35th out of 59 competitors. And in the foil, Fried took home bronze after finishing with silver in 2007.

"Speed was the key for Mary," Murray commented. "Foot speed and blade speed combined with quick thinking had her as one of the favorites in a difficult field."

Hopkins returns to action in 2009 with the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday, January 10.