Princeton fencing goes undefeated at Vassar Invitational

The Princeton men’s and women’s fencing teams, along with five other schools, were welcomed by Vassar College at the Walker Field House for the 2017 Tradition Multi-Meet this past Sunday. Both Tiger teams were extremely successful, going undefeated against some of the nation’s very best competition. It was a two-day tournament, but the Tigers only joined in for the second day of competition, fencing in four dual matches against Sacred Heart, NYU, Penn State and the host Brewers.

On the women’s side, freshman épée Tatijana Stewart and sophomore épée Farrah Lee-Elabd co-led Princeton with 11-1 records, while senior foil Taylor Chin went 9-0. Aside from the duals against Penn State, almost every match for the women ended in a landslide victory for the Tigers. Overall, the team beat Sacred Heart 25-2, NYU 24-3, Penn State 15-12, and Vassar 24-3.

Among the men's teams, the level of competition was definitely more equal than the women's teams, but Princeton still managed to end the day of fencing undefeated. Freshman saber Daniel Kwak led the Tiger men with a 10-2 record, followed by an impressive 9-3 record from senior saber Edward Chin. Sunday was also a battle between brothers, as junior épée Michael Popovici matched up against Penn State freshman Nico Popovici. It was a thrilling dual that resulted in a 4-4 draw and officially ended when Michael Popovici finally got the winning touch in overtime. Épées Wesley Johnson, Daniel Sitbon-Taylor, Popovici and Wesley Yuan took turns substituting as sabers because the Tigers only traveled with two to the match. Penn State proved to be the Tiger's most difficult competition, with the team losing all three matches by one point only. In the end, the Orange and Black beat Sacred Heart 17-10, NYU 16-11, Penn State 14-13, and Vassar 18-9.

The Tigers have only competed in one other tournament this season and will not compete again until February, when the teams will travel to South Bend, Ind. to compete at the Northwestern Duals hosted by Notre Dame.