Women's Fencing: Bulldogs rack up another title win at IFAs

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Hannah Appel, SM '00, was one of many Eli fencers who came up big to help the team win at IFAs.

The win was all the more impressive because of the tournament's exhausting structure. "The IFAs competition is not just about the best team but who can survive the format," epée captain Whitney Anderson, TC '00, said. "We start at 8:30 [a.m.] and end at 8:30 at night." In addition, the tournament also features an unfamiliar fighting format. Rather than a round robin, the format of most dual meets, on the first day of the tournament each team's best fencer squares off against the other schools' best fencers, the second-best against the second-best, and so on down the line in "strips." The cumulative scores of the fencers determine how each team places overall.

All four Bulldogs won their strips in the foil round, helping Yale dominate the 13-team field. The epée team also fenced well--finishing third--and the teams' combined scores easily brought the trophy back to Payne Whitney Gym. On Sunday the fencers who qualified the previous day took part in an individual competition. Team captain Katie Zuckerman, JE '99, captured first and Hannah Appel, SM '00, placed second.

Now the Elis are looking to the Northeast Regionals, where fencers can qualify for the NCAA championships. Each team can send up to two competitors in each event. "Even though we compete individually, it's still extremely important to do well as a team," explained Weeks, because the NCAA tournament is also a team competition. The Elis will try to continue their domination. "We've definitely gotten used to winning," Anderson said.

--Joey Ax

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