MEDFORD, MA (March 31, 2023) – Five Tufts University fencers were announced as 2023 United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) Division III All-Americans on Thursday.
First-years
Karen Bei in epee and
Alexia Newell in sabre were both named first team All-Americans. First-year
Daniella Davia and junior
Sydnee Lau from the Tufts foil squad are both second-team All-America honorees. Senior sabre fencer
Emily Valadez is an honorable mention All-American.
The USFCA recognizes the top Division III fencers in the country with All-American awards determined by an evaluation of their regular-season performance and post-season performance, including both NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships.
Bei was the first Tufts fencer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2009. She earned her selection by finishing sixth in the epee weapon at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Bei won 64 of her 93 epee matches for a .688 winning percentage prior to NCAA's, and was a Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) All-Conference second team selection after posting a 22-5 record (81.48 percent) in conference competition.
Newell also had an outstanding first season for head coach David Sach's Jumbos. She won a remarkable 18 out of 19 bouts (.947) in foil at the FDU Invitational on February 12. She went on to post a 60-26 overall mark (69.76), and had the Jumbos' second-best finish at the Regional where she split 10 matches and was 25th in sabre.
Lau repeats as a USFCA All-American after earning first team foil honors last season. This year she was an NFC All-Conference second team pick after posting a 26-4 record (86.67 percent) in the league. Her overall record of 62-21 for a 74.69 winning mark includes a 6-4 record at the Regional where she placed 27th in foil.
Another strong first season came from Davia, who was right behind Lau in foil at the Regional with a 28th-place finish. She split her 10 bouts in two pools there. Overall Davia won 53 of 71 matches during the year for a 74.64 winning percentage.
Valadez, whose 96 matches in total are the most of the Jumbo All-Americans, won 68 times in 2022-23 for a 70.83 success rate. She had 29 of those victories in 36 NFC contests for an 80.55 mark which helped her receive All-Conference second team honors. Valadez was 36th in sabre at NCAA Regionals.
Coach Sach's Jumbos won a share of the NFC title this season, finishing with a 12-1 record. With Bei earning the NCAA national berth, Tufts placed 24th as a team at the event based on her scoring. The Jumbos earned fourth in the USFCA's Division III Team of the Year voting.
See the full list of USFCA All-Americans
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
