WELLESLEY, Mass. — Wellesley College fencing hosted its annual Wellesley Invitational on Saturday at the Keohane Sports Center, defeating Boston University, Mount Holyoke College and the University of Massachusetts before eventually falling to tournament champion Tufts University.
Wellesley opened the day with a 21-6 victory over Mount Holyoke. The Blue went 7-2 in epee before taking an 8-1 victory in foil and a 6-3 win in sabre.
In round two, the Blue again swept all three weapons, this time taking an 8-1 victory in epee, a 7-2 victory in foil and another 6-3 decision in sabre.
Following a bye in the event's third round, Wellesley returned with a 22-5 triumph over UMass in the fourth round. The Blue got victories of 7-2 in epee, 9-0 in foil and 6-3 in sabre.
With Wellesley and Tufts both a perfect 3-0 heading into the fifth and final round of the day, the matchup between the two became a de facto championship bout. However, it was the Jumbos that would end the day unscathed, as the earned a 16-11 victory to win the championship by five bouts. The Blue earned a 5-4 victory in foil following a 5-4 defeat in epee but in the end a 7-2 Tufts victory in sabre proved to be the difference.
Individually, both sophomore Pamela Wang and senior Olivia Wei went 11-1 on the day as the Blue's foil fencers compiled a mark of 29-7. Junior Camille Samulski recorded a record of 7-5 in foil.
In epee, Wellesley finished the day with a 26-10 record in bouts, as senior Kathryn Ledbetter also went 11-1 while junior Charlotte Treadwell posted a mark of 10-2. First year Vanessa Willoughby finished the day at an even 6-6.
Finally, in sabre, Wellesley put together a 20-16 record, led by first year Madeleine Barowsky's 7-5 mark. Jasmine Davis (6-6) Alice Xu (4-5) and Cassie Hoef (0-3) also competed in sabre for the Blue.
Taking part in its final home event of the season, Wellesley celebrated senior day for Hoef, Ledbetter and Wei prior to the start of today's first bout.
Wellesley fencing will be back in action on Saturday, February 7 at the the third New England Conference Meet of the season at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
