MADISON, N.J. (March 1, 2025) – The Tufts University women's fencing team had another strong performance on Saturday when the Jumbos finished second out of 15 teams at the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championships hosted by Drew University.
Head coach Jason Sach's Jumbos won the team foil competition, took second in the team epee weapon and were third in the team saber event to place as the runner-up overall. Only Temple University, ranked #8 in the most recent United States Fencing Coaches Association Division I poll, finished ahead of Tufts.
In today's individual results, Tufts junior
Karen Bei won the epee title. Jumbo senior
Anat Katz placed second in the saber individual tournament, while senior
Shannon Chen tied for third in the foil individual event.
Chen, graduate student
Lea Levi and first-year
Saanvi Kapoor led Tufts to the foil team victory. Together they won 40 of their 42 matches in the pools, including 14 for 14 performances by Levi and Kapoor in the B and C divisions, respectively. Chen lost just two of 14 A matches.
The trio of Bei, senior
Ayelet Book and senior
Olivia Tomasello earned a 34-8 record in the epee pools for second place. Bei was perfect in her 14 A matches, while Book and Tomasello both won 10 of 14 in B's and C's, respectively.
For saber, the Jumbo team of Katz, senior
Millie Girardi and first-year
Anahat Bawa combined on a 31-11 record. Bawa's 11 of 14 wins in C division led the saber group, while Girardi in A and Katz in B both won 10 of 14.
In the individual epee competition, Bei was the top seed and won three times to get to the final where she defeated Victoria Doroshkevich from Temple 15-11. Book also advanced to the individual table of 16 and earned a ninth-place finish overall.
In the saber individual competition, Katz as the fifth seed also won three times to get to the final. She lost there to Josephine Chang from Johns Hopkins. Girardi advanced to the table of eight and earned a sixth-place finish individually.
All three Jumbo foil fencers earned spots in the individual table of 16. Chen went the furthest, making it to the semifinals before losing and finishing tied for third individually. Levi (ninth) and Kapoor (11th) both lost in table of 16 matches.
Tufts looks to continue their strong performances when they host the NCAA Regionals next Sunday. Berths in the national championships will be on the line.
--JUMBOS--
