POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Members of the Hunter College men and women's fencing teams traveled upstate New York on Sunday, November 13th to compete in the Vassar College Invitational.
MEN
Round one for the men against Stevens Tech was highlighted by Justin Lokossou winning one out of three bouts in the epee. In the foil, Hunter newcomer Christopher Khan whose only been competing in the sport for two weeks won his first bout at his first collegiate tournament. Isaac Orbe also picked up a win in the sabre to close out the round for the Hawks.
Round two featured Hunter taking on host Vassar and Orbe shined in the sabre as he won two bouts against the Division III powerhouse.
The Hawks faced Yeshiva University in round three and despite a 6-3 loss, Hunter had several good bouts. First year fencer Alexis Chavez earned a pair of wins in the sabre while Orbe added another victory for the Hawks, winning 50% of their matches.
A close battle ensued in round four as Hunter faced Army, dropping a 5-4 decision in the sabre where Chavez and Orbe each won two bouts.
Highlights from the fifth round against Sacred Heart University included Loukossou and Chavez each winning a bout in the epee and sabre respectively.
Finally, in the sixth round against Haverford College Lokossou earned a bout in the epee before Orbe and Chavez helped bolster the Hawks to a 5-4 victory in the sabre, as Chavez won three bouts and Orbe registered two.
Head coach Patrick Durkan was extremely pleased with the team's efforts, adding, “The warm-up tournament at Vassar was extremely rewarding as our fencers went up against some of the best Division III schools in the country and performed well. Our returning junior Isaac Orbe had a great day, winning eight bouts which was two more than he did last season, showing tremendous improvement.”
WOMEN
Highlights from the women's competition included a 5-4 win in the epee against Vassar as Samantha Li, Nina Hsu and Canny Fung each combined to win. Despite losing to Vassar in the foil division, Hunter saw Natalia Dittren and Irene Yenko each win bouts against the club.
Hunter also picked up a 7-2 win over Army in the foil round. Yenko, Dittren and Lilia Altman picked up the first three victories before Army edged out a win. Altman and Dittren won their second bouts before Yenko and Dittren eared victories in bout three to secure the win in the foil.
The Hawks suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 loss against Wellesley as Hsu, Li each won a bout while Fung won two bouts in the epee. The Hawks managed a 6-3 effort in the foil as Yenko, Altman and Dittren each won bouts.
Against Army the Hawks got strong performances losing another nailbiter 5-4 as Hsu, Fung and Li picked up victories to help Hunter in the epee. Monica Yuen who recently took up sabre also won her final bout against the Black Knights in the round.
“This was a great display by our women's team at Vassar with several strong performances. Our first year fencer Monica Yuen fenced in her first tournament just three weeks after practicing the sport and she won three bouts against competitive schools. I'm excited about the future of Hunter fencing and look forward to great results at MACFAs next week,” added Durkan.
The men's fencing team returns to action next Sunday, November 20 as they head to Drew University to compete in the first MACFA event of the season. Both teams will compete against Army on Friday, December 2nd at Homecoming.
