Three fencers claim gold medals at conference championships

The Haverford College men’s and women’s fencing teams were in action on Sunday at separate championship events. The women traveled to Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) for the Eastern Women’s Fencing Conference (EWFC) Individual Championships, while the men headed to Mount Holyoke College (Mass.) to participate for the first time in the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference (NEIFC) Championships.

Junior epeeist Emma Buckingham successfully defended her title from last year, and was named EWFC Epeeist of the Year for the second consecutive year. Joining Buckingham on first-team all-conference were senior co-captain Melanie Preston in epee, and sophomore foilists Amanda Levinson and Rebecca Church. Sabrists Gili Freedman and Kayla Feldman also fought hard and won three and four bouts, respectively. Twenty-four fencers participated in each weapon for a total of 72 competitors.

The men’s team almost upset defending champion Boston College, but fell behind by three bouts against the Eagles in a dramatic final-round finish. Haverford finished tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in total bouts won (82), but moved to third place on "touch indicators" (total number of touches scored minus total number of hits received) with a total of +177.

The men also garnered second place weapon squad honors for the sabre and foil teams, and Max Rosen-Long and Remy Olson rounded out the Fords hardware collection with individual gold medals. Both Rosen-Long and Olson overcame opponents who had defeated them in team play, from MIT and Vassar, respectively, to capture their titles.

The women's team will travel to the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championship at Rutgers University on Saturday. Both teams will send participants to the NCAA Regional on Saturday, March 7 at Drew University.