MIT Defeats UNC at Brandeis Invitational

WALTHAM, Mass. – Competing at the Brandeis University Invitational on Sunday, the MIT women's fencing team defeated UNC (14-13) but fell to Yale (14-13), St. John's (24-3), Cornell (17-10), and Brown (19-8). The victory over the Tar Heels was the first for the Engineers since 2004 and seventh in program history.

The sabre squad amassed a record of 23-22, highlighted by victories over Yale (6-3), Cornell (6-3), and UNC (5-4). Junior Robin Shin (Brookline, Mass.) powered the Cardinal and Gray with a 12-3 performance while senior Molly Kozminsky (Port Matilda, Pa.) finished at 11-4. Junior Elisabeth Morant (Chicago, Ill.) was winless in her 14 appearances as junior Sally Wolfe (Madison, Wis.) was defeated in her lone bout.

The epee team edged out Yale (5-4) and fell to Cornell by the same margin en route to a total of 14-31. Freshman Sarah Alkilany (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 5-5 as senior Kirsten Hessler (Roswell, Ga.) posted a ledger of 6-8. Seniors Breanna Peterman (Selden, N.Y.) and Rachel Williams (Merritt Island, Fla.) rounded out the squad with marks of 2-12 and 1-6, respectively.

A 6-3 win over UNC helped propel the foil team to an 11-34 record for the day. Senior Julia Hopkins (New York, N.Y.) had a ledger of 5-10 as classmate Ana Escalante (Los Angeles, Calif.) came in at 3-11. Junior Julia Kimmerly (Middlesex, Vt.) contributed a tally of 2-5 while freshman Rebecca Shi (Plainsboro, N.J.) finished at 1-8.

MIT (6-5) will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 28 for its final Northeast Fencing Conference competition of the season.