Josephine Emanuelli
The fencing season has officially begun, as the men opened their season at the Vassar Open this Sunday, November 12. They ended their day with a 3-3 mark, giving them a .500 win percentage to begin their season. The women also competed in the meet, finishing the day with a 6-1 mark, moving their overall record to 12-1 early on in the season.
The women were a dominant force on Sunday, soundly beating six out of their seven opponents. Their first victory was a narrow 14-13 decision against Division I opponent Incarnate Word, but the women were able to use that momentum to beat LIU Post, Vassar College, Army West Point and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Wrapping up their day, the women toppled opponent Yeshiva University 25-2, before dropping their final matchup against Stevens Institute of Technology.
The women were led by foilists Caitlin Kotz (‘19) and Lydia Segal (‘20). Kotz completed the day with a record of 15-4, piling on to her 200 win career. Segal posted a 12-7 record, proving that she is a talent to watch after her impressive rookie season last year. Emily Huber (‘21) finished 10-3 in sabre in her second collegiate meet ever, and fellow first-year, Kayla Ogden (‘21) added 9 victories in sabre.
The men’s team opened their day with a 16-11 victory against Incarnate Word. They dropped their next match against Stevens, before toppling Hunter and Army West Point. The Rangers then dropped their subsequent matches against Sacred Heart and Vassar to finish the day and even out their record.
The men were paced by Nick Kilgore (‘21) in foil and Nathan Milgram (‘21) in sabre; each of them tallied 11 victories in their collegiate debuts. Andrew Pidhorodeckyj (‘19) turned in an impressive performance in epee, capturing nine wins for the day.
The women’s team will be returning to Vassar on November 19 to compete in the Lampell Invitational, while the men will be split; some will return to Vassar while the others will be going to Hunter College to open the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association Competition.
