MEDFORD, MA (November 8, 2025) – Led by six fencers who qualified for the NCAA Regionals last year, the 2025-26 Tufts University women's fencing team has great optimism for the new season which begins this weekend.
Head coach Jason Sach's team finished last year ranked fourth in the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) Division III Team of the Year standings. The Jumbos were among the middle of the pack for the Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) with five victories, and were the second-place team at the annual National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championships.
In addition to last year's growth, the Jumbos have added depth and strength in each weapon. The team has welcomed two nationally-ranked fencers, one in epee and one in saber. Foil has four new first-years who will boost an already successful squad. The tri-captains - juniors
Olympe Jean and
Mikayla Joseph and sophomore
Saanvi Kapoor - have done a great job with team building and prep work in the pre-season.
"I am looking forward to the season, not only for the team culture and fun we had last year, but also with how we have grown competitively against some of the stronger teams we fence this year," Coach Sach said. "The team has set higher standards for ourselves, and I have no doubt we will achieve most of them."
Here's a closer look at the squad by weapon:
EPEE:
Karen Bei enters her senior season of what has been one of the most successful careers in team history. The three-time All-American was an NCAA national qualifier in 2023 and aspires to get back to the national meet this season. A three-time NFC All-Conference selection, she was on the first team last year after winning 23 of her 27 matches at the two-day NFC event for a .852 winning percentage. She was also the epee individual champion at the NIWFA meet with a perfect 17-0 mark. Joseph returns to Tufts' epee squad as well, where she saw action in 87 bouts last year. First-years
Olivia Judicke and
Emily You also join the epee team.
FOIL: The largest group of returnees is here, led by sophomores
Sophie Guan and Kapoor, who had promising rookie seasons for the Jumbos in the foil division last year. Both were regularly in the starting lineup and earned NCAA Regional qualifying spots in March. Guan had success in the NFC, winning 16 of her 27 bouts for a winning percentage near 60. Kapoor had a strong mark at the NIWFA meet. Sophomores
Jess Charalel and
Jaymee Yeung return to the foil squad looking to make bigger contributions this season. The foil group also includes a large contingent of first-year students, including
Katie Han,
Kiki Liu,
Layla Roy, and
Chloe Wang.
SABER: Tufts returns a pair of All-Americans in saber with sophomore
Anahat Bawa and junior
Nitika Subramanian (who is abroad for the first semester). Subramanian's nine wins and 14th-place finish in saber at the 2025 NCAA Regional were both the best for the Tufts team at the meet. She finished the year with a 60-41 record for a .594 winning percentage. In her first season last year, Bawa placed 19th at the NCAA Regional and completed the season with a 49-40 record (.551). Jean joined that pair as an NCAA Regional qualifier last season, and also won six of eight NFC matches in limited duty. The saber team also welcomes first-years
Asher Boynton and
Emily Xu.
The new Jumbo season gets underway at the annual Vassar Invitational coming up on Sunday (Nov. 9).
"The two teams we are focused on are Yale and Cornell," Coach Sach said. "Last year we lost to both, and while this is the first meet of the year, it will be a good yardstick to measure where the team is at."
In addition to Yale and Cornell, the Jumbos will fence six other teams all from the East Coast.
--JUMBOS--
