NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Wellesley fencing team opened the 2012-13 season with a solid effort at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference "The Big One" Fall Invitational.

Ten Wellesley fencers competed at the tournament and five Blue athletes advanced out of the pool play round.

Leading the way for Wellesley were first-year Charlotte Treadwell and sophomore Kathryn Ledbetter each recorded top-25 finishers. Treadwell placed 23rd overall, while Ledbetter finished 24th. Both fencers picked up four wins in the opening round and also went 1-1 in the elimination round.

Also advancing out of pool play for the Blue were all three sabre fencers.  Senior Mariami Bekauri led the way with a 55th place finish, while junior Dania Wright placed 56th. Senior Ivory Xinyue Wu rounded out the sabre competitors with a 59th place finish. Each of the sabre fencers picked up two wins in pool play and advanced to the elimination round.

Rounding out the Wellesley competitors, four Blue fencers competed in foil. Senior Elise Dong picked up two pool play wins and finished 55th overall, while first-years Camille Samulski and Eileen Cho each won a pool play match to finish 63rd and 66th overall. Finally, sophomore Kanwen Zhang finished in 72nd place.

Wellesley fencing is back in action on November 11th, competing at the Sacred Heart University Invitational.