Alexa Fitzgerald
The Drew University men’s and women’s fencing teams returned to action on Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22 at the Philadelphia Invitational. After a six week hiatus, the Rangers put up a commendable effort on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. On Saturday, the men’s team split to also compete at the Army West Point Invitational; they finished a combined 5-8 on the weekend. The women’s squad finished 4-4 at their only tournament.
On Saturday, the women posted a 3-1 record, knocking off Haverford 17-10, Fairleigh Dickinson 15-12 and Sacred Heart 16-11, while falling to North Carolina 20-7. Drew dropped a trio of bouts to top teams in the nation Yale 25-2, Northwestern 26-1 and Penn 24-3. They closed out the tournament with a 23-4 victory over Wagner.
Freshman sabres Emily Huber (‘21) and Kayla Ogden (‘21) notched the best records on the weekend. Ogden secured a 12-8 record while Huber posted a 10-8 record. Caitlin Kotz (‘19) and Lydia Segal (‘20) each recorded 10 wins in foil competition.
At the Army West Point Invitational the Rangers went 5-1. The Drew men knocked off Lafayette 19-8, Army West Point 22-5 and Hunter 25-2, rounding their record out with a pair of victories over Cal Tech 22-5 and 25-2. They fell to Stevens 19-8. Meanwhile, in Philadelphia the team suffered losses to Sacred Heart 22-5, Penn 25-2, Haverford 23-4, NYU 22-5, Yale 20-7, North Carolina 20-7 and a close one to Brown 14-13.
In two days of action, Josh Ryan (‘20) carded a combined 18-5 in epee. Jeremy Ferreira (‘21) also recorded 13 wins in epee competition. Freshmen Ryan Baldi (‘21) and Nathan Milgram (‘21) led the sabres on the weekend. Baldi posted a 15-6 record, while Milgram tallied a 15-6 record. Nick Kilgore (‘21) led the foils, notching 14 victories across the two tournaments.
The Ranger men’s and women’s fencing teams will travel next to Johns Hopkins for Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association competition on Sunday, February 11, where they will face Johns Hopkins, Maryland, William and Mary, Navy and Haverford.
