NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The MIT women's fencing team opened the 2024-25 season by generating 12 top 10 performances at The Big One Invitational hosted by Smith College on Saturday. Senior Catherine Tang (Fremont, Calif.) repeated as the sabre champion while sophomore Amber Peng (Irvine, Calif.) became the foil champion for the second year in a row. Junior Eunice Choi (Las Vegas, Nev.) was the top finisher for the Engineers in epee as she tied for third place, a career-best ranking. MIT is currently ranked first in the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association Division III Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Epee
  • Choi went 6-0 in her pool and then defeated Kirsten Szala-Krotkov of UMass (15-10), Ashley Davis of Northeastern (15-6), and Adeline Xie of Vassar (15-9) before falling to Nadia Gaberkorn of Sacred Heart, 15-11, in the semifinals. 
  • Sophomore Priscilla Leang (San Jose, Calif.) finished in sixth place. She posted a 6-0 mark in her pool, defeated Nika Ajamian of UMass (15-9) and Marwa Ellis of Northeastern (15-10), but lost to Maria Alvim of Sacred Heart, 12-3, in the table of 8.
  • Junior Zandra Feland (Los Gatos, Calif.) ranked seventh in the final standings. Following a 5-1 outing in her pool, she posted victories against Layna Abraham of UMass (15-7) and Nikita Bajaj of Northeastern (15-9), but fell to Nadia Gaberkorn of Sacred Heart, 15-10, in the table of 8.
  • Senior Andrea Leang (San Jose, Calif.) placed eighth overall. She went 3-2 in her pool, defeated Lauren Bains of Bowdoin (15-4), Mackenzie Martin of Smith (15-7), Nika Ungurianu of Vassar (15-12), and Niara Dagli of Brandeis (15-6), but was edged out by Julia Lin of Dartmouth, 15-13, in the table of 8.
  • Sophomore Michelle Sotelo (Westford, Mass.) finished in 28^th place. After going 3-3 in her pool, she defeated Sharon Zhao of BU (15-7) and Lora Janczewski of Vassar (15-10), but lost to Adeline Xie of Vassar, 15-7, in the table of 32.
  • First-year Stasya Selizhuk (Melville, N.Y.) placed 45^th following a 2-4 ledger in her pool, a 15-5 victory over Siqi Wang of UMass, and a 15-13 loss to Lauren Canney of Northeastern in the table of 32.
  • Graduate student Bianca Hanly (Scottsdale, Ariz.) rounded out the Engineers by ranking 58^th overall. She went 2-4 in her pool and then fell to Aurelia Cacace of Vassar, 15-9, in the table of 64. 
     
• Foil
  • Peng claimed her second straight foil title by winning all six bouts in her pool, defeating Carina Montero of UConn (15-1), senior Amelia Schueppert (Houston, Texas), 15-10, Norah Vaughan of Wheaton (15-11), Emily Gu of BU (15-12), and junior Angela Yuan (Mississauga, Ontario) by a 15-13 margin in the final.
  • Yuan's runner-up finish was a career-best performance. Following a 5-1 outing in her pool, she topped Xinyue Zhang of BU (15-2), Jade Logan of WPI (15-12), Sydney Guan of Tufts (15-5), and Zoe North of Vassar (15-0) before falling to Peng, 15-13 in the title bout.
  • First-year Sofia Eun-Young Guerra (University Place, Wash.) ranked 11^th. She went 6-0 in her pool and defeated Sofia Goncalves of Dartmouth (15-0), but lost to Norah Vaughan of Wheaton, 15-10, in the table of 16.
  • Sophomore Jordyn Goldson (Holmdel, N.J.) finished in 12^th place for the second year in a row. She had a 5-0 record in her pool and defeated Jodie Howland of WPI, 15-2, but lost to Jenna Jacinto of Sacred Heart, 15-6, in the table of 16.
  • Schueppert captured 15^th place as she went 5-1 in her pool and defeated Sally Pizzuto of UNH, but fell to Peng, 15-10, in the table of 16.

• Sabre
  • Following a 6-0 performance in her pool, Tang defeated Lijia Yang of Dartmouth (15-3), Laura Chu of Northeastern (15-6), and Vivian Wei of Vassar (15-11) before battling teammates in the final two rounds. She topped first-year Anna Hung (Dallas, Texas), 15-11, in the semifinals and then outlasted senior Anna Mikulevica (Riga, Latvia), 15-13, in the championship.
  • Mikulevica had a career-best showing with her runner-up finish. She went 6-0 in her pool and then defeated junior Alyasia Stone (La Palma, Calif.), 15-7, Valery Krylova of Sacred Heart (15-11), Ceren Atalar of BU (15-3), and senior Rhea Bhattacharjee (Bethesda, Md.), 15-3, in the semifinals before falling to Tang in the final.
  • Bhattacharjee tied for third place, which is a career-best performance. A 6-0 ledger in her pool was followed by a 15-1 win over Anju Ito of Mount Holyoke, a 15-2 victory against Caitriona Row of UNH, and a 15-13 decision over sophomore Hannah Tao (Mountainside, N.J.), before falling to Mikulevica in the semifinals.
  • Hung tied for third place. She posted a 6-0 mark in her pool and then defeated Peyton Cahill of Rhode Island (15-3) and Sabrina Balmaseda of Northeastern (15-1) but fell to Tang, 15-11, in the table of 8.
  • Tao ranked fifth overall. She produced a 6-0 record in her pool and defeated Kate Koenig of Mount Holyoke (15-3) and Kira Wheeler of Vassar (15-9) before being edged out by Bhattacharjee, 15-13, in the table of 8.
  • Junior Kelsey Fontenot (Teaneck, N.J.) posted a career-best finish of ninth place. After a 5-0 showing in her pool, she defeated Imari Williams of Mount Holyoke (15-8) but lost to Ceren Atalar of BU, 15-9, in the table of 16.
  • Stone ranked 29^th in the final standings. She went 3-2 in her pool and defeated Kyle Murphy of Rhode Island (15-2), but fell to Mikulevica, 15-7, in the table of 16.  

UP NEXT:

• MIT returns to action on Wednesday, November 13 when it travels to Boston College for the Beanpot.

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