The fencing team kicked off its season at the Ranger Falls Invitational on Sunday, hosted by Drew University. The men’s team finished 10th out of 11 overall, and the women’s team came in 12th out of 13.
The Leopard men were challenged by heavyweights like the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Drew. The epee team managed to take down NJIT and Wheaton College squads, edging them both out 5-4.
“For us, we have everybody every time; they’re getting all of that competition experience,” senior sabre Tyler Morse said about the strengths of having a smaller team. “A lot of our people are just more ready in a competition setting, rather than bigger teams, which are focused more on a practice bout.”
Sophomore sabre Nikita Kogan and freshman foil William Nicoll led the men’s team with eight victorious bouts. Senior sabre Tyler Morse followed behind with seven wins, and sophomore sabre Jordan Ginsberg racked up six.
The foil squad, which is entirely composed of freshmen, saw Ryan Kramer and Quinn Alvarez finish victorious twice and once, respectively.
“We had a big recruitment for our freshman class, so for a lot of them this was their first time in a college tournament,” Morse said.
Sophomore epee Ryan Leibowitz also recorded four victories, and freshman epee Henry Cohen and senior sabre Christopher Rafferty rounded out the men’s team with a single tally each.
The women’s team competed against an expanded field compared to the men’s. The Leopards managed 4-4 against NJIT in the epee class, but fell to Drew and Wellesley College by scores of 21-6 and 23-4, respectively.
Sophomore foil Zoe Lenz led the women with 13 winning bouts, followed closely by sophomore epee Hilla Wetherwill with nine. Freshman epee Helen Broikos claimed two bouts, while freshman foil Margaret Narula took one home as well.
Despite the results, the team has “potential to grow” according to Wetherill.
“Everyone is a valued member on the team, it pushes everyone to work,” Wetherill said.
The Leopards will hit the road again this weekend, travelling to Vassar College to compete in the Vassar invite on Sunday.
“I know some of the other members of the squad were a bit disappointed in how they were doing, but they also said it’s the first meet of the season,” Morse added.
Disclaimer: Assistant News Editor Makenna McCall ’27 is a member of the fencing team. She did not contribute writing or reporting.