POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 15, 2026) -- Senior epee
Karen Bei and first-year sabre
Asher Boynton were named to the top of their weapon groups, highlighting a strong day of fencing for the Tufts University women's fencing team at the 2026 Eastern Women's Fencing Conference (EWFC) Championships at Vassar College's Walker Field House Sunday.
The Jumbos went a stellar 8-1 on the day, with the lone setback coming to eventual champion Johns Hopkins University 18-9. Tufts started the long day of fencing with wins over Hunter (26-1) and Wellesley College (16-11), finishing with six straight victories over Yeshiva University (27-0), Drew University (19-8), Haverford College (23-4), Vassar (22-5), Stevens (20-7) and CCNY (27-0).
For the day, the Jumbos tallied a sterling 77.8 percent win percentage, winning 189 of their 243 bouts on the day. Tufts also tallied a +512 total ration as it tallied 1023 total touches to just 511 against.
Individually, Bei has the best day of any fencer in the field as the senior standout went a perfect 27-0 on the afternoon. She finished with 126 touches for to just 46 against, a +80 ratio as she was named Epee Fencer of the Year.
Boynton was nearly as strong at sabre, going 17-3 on the day to earn wins in 85 percent of the contested bouts on the day. Boynton was a fantastic +55 on the day, bested only by teammate
Emily Xu and her +63 afternoon. Xu was 21-6 on Sunday, posting a meet-best 113 total touches against.
In all, Tufts had three of the top five fencers in the field on Sunday, as
Emily You won 81.5 percent of her bouts going 22-5 while recording 121 touches.
The Jumbo epee group was named as the top weapon group in the field, while the foil and sabre squads also earned second-place accolades on Sunday.
In foil,
Jess Charalel was a perfect 12-for-12 in her bouts, going 55-12 on touches.
Kiki Liu was also 10-1 on the day with a strong +34 ratio, while
Katie Hand went 10-2 with 51 touches on the day to just 22 against.
Sophie Guan was 9-4 on the day as well, with a solid +26 overall.
Also in sabre,
Anahat Bawa went 12-5 overall while
Olympe Jean matched her teammate with a 12-5 mark.
In the decisive match with Johns Hopkins, Tufts was right there in sabre and epee with 5-4 wins by the Blue Jays but an 8-1 victory by JHU was enough for the win.
Wellesley, Stevens and Vassar rounded out the top five in the standings.
Tufts will have next weekend off before going to the NIWFA Championships March 1 at Drew University in Madison, NJ.
