Philadelphia, Pa.- The Hunter College women's fencing team opened up the 2024-25 season at the Nikki Franke Classic hosted by Temple University on Oct. 26.

Foil
Hunter's foil squad was led by Julia Stenger, finishing in 53rd place. Stenger made a statement in the initial pool round, including a decisive 5-0 victory against Mia Espinoza of Bryn Mawr College. She also gave Akemi Rodriguez from Stevens Tech a challenge, narrowly losing 4-5, before being edged out by Lauren Yu from the University of North Carolina in the round of 64. Brean Tobin, finishing 54th, fought her way through pools with 5-3 victories over Anjali Mitra (Bryn Mawr) and Megan Depersis (Sacred Heart), before facing Talia Becker-Calazans from the University of Pennsylvania, where she put up a strong effort in a 15-9 loss in the round of 64.

In 57th place, Gisselle Carino cleared her initial pool round but was ultimately bested by Malak Hamza from the University of Pennsylvania. Liya Yaniv, coming in 61st, rebounded from a rough start to earn three strong wins against opponents from Drexel, Florida State, and Bryn Mawr College.

Maya Nair, tying for 74th place, managed two pool victories against Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore after a challenging start, demonstrating her resilience and continued development.

Epee
Hunter's epee team also had notable performances, with Viktoria Klapkova leading in 70th place. Klapkova edged out Grace Baranosky (Sacred Heart) in a 5-4 victory and narrowly lost to Karina Dyner (NYU) before being eliminated in the round of 128 by Zara Sinha of NYU in a close 15-11 match.

Betzabe Granados, unfortunately, was forced to retire due to a hand injury after her pool round. Katherine Hanin, placing 80th, bounced back from a challenging start to secure four wins in her second pool round, showing her ability to adapt and push forward.

Sabre
Samantha Lin represented the Hawks in sabre, as she  placed 67th, fighting hard through the initial rounds. Lin claimed a 5-1 win against Aiperi Bush (Swarthmore) and narrowly lost 4-5 to Margaret Carlson (Bryn Mawr), showing her competitive spirit.

The Hawks continue their season on Nov. 10 as they compete at the Vassar Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.