What: Brandeis Invitational
When: Saturday, Dec. 5
Where: Waltham Mass.
Brandeis Invitational: The Cornell fencing team returns to action this Saturday, Dec. 5 after a four-week hiatus as the Big Red travels to Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., to compete in the Brandeis Invitational. The Brandeis Invitational will be the toughest test for Cornell before the Ivy League Championship, as Cornell will have to face powerhouse St. John's, and several of the top schools in the Boston area.
Great Expectations: Expectations will be high for Cornell this year, according to senior captain
Katherine Thompson. “I think there will be a great improvement over last year and the whole team is very excited to see how much we have improved,” said Thompson. “Temple and Vassar both went very well and we made improvements on last year's results. At Brandeis, St. John's will be a particularly tough match, but also very enjoyable and there's always a chance that we might come out on top. All of the other teams are about on our level, so it will be a challenge and a fight, but I'm confident that all three squads will do very well this weekend.”
The Big Red's Last Match: The Big Red defeated Vassar College, 24-3, Haverford, 23-4, Drew, 25-2, Hunter, 24-3, Yeshiva, 25-2, CCNY, 25-2, Sacred Heart, 18-9, and Stevens Institute of Technology, 25-2 at the team's first performance at the Vassar Invitational. The epee squad posted the best result of the day, going 62-6 overall. Cornell was led by
Tasha Hall with a record of 15-1, while
Sallie Dietrich went 14-3. The foil squad had a solid outing with a 63-9 record on the day.
Dana Baines led the way with a record of 20-1, while
Rebecca Hirschfeld did not lose a bout, going a perfect 19-0. A young saber squad did very well, finishing with a record of 59-12.
Last Year's Brandeis Invitational: The Big Red finished its final competition of 2008 at the Brandeis Invitational in Waltham, Mass. Overall, the Big Red finished the day 0-4. In the Big Red's first match against Brandeis, Cornell narrowly lost a 14-13 heartbreaker. Against the Judges, the foil squad was impressive, winning 8-of-9 points. Cornell then went on to fall to Boston College,15-12. Cornell won the majority of foil and epee points vs. the Eagles. MIT was next for the Big Red. Again, despite winning the majority of foil and epee matches, MIT beat Cornell 16-11. Cornell's final match was a 19-9 loss to St. John's, a team that finished the 2007-08 season ranked No. 7 in the nation. On the day, Cornell's foil was extremely impressive. The foil squad did not lose a majority of its points in any of the team's four matches, while finishing with a record of 25-9. That proved to be the best foil record among all the schools that competed.
Merely Freshmen: Unlike in most years, Cornell has been relying heavily on its freshmen. “The freshman class has been a great aid to us so far and is very talented,” said Thompson. “It always takes a few tournaments to get used to the format of college fencing, so I can only predict that they will continue to improve and bring wins to the team.”
This freshmen class has turned into one of the most talented recruitment classes in recent history, and the results have been there at all weapons. Betty Yang and Audrey Spear both finished in the top-11 at the Temple Open out of 73 participants. Both continued their success at the Vassar Invitational, with Yang going 18-1 and Spear finishing at 19-2. Lucia Rafanelli and McKellen Rattray have both found early season success competing for the third foil spot, while Adelaide McDonnell had nine victories at the Vassar Invitational at epee.
Here's to You, Miss Robinson: One freshman who has really opened some eyes is Christie Robinson at epee. Starting behind three seniors (Katherine Thompson, Tasha Hall, and Sallie Dietrich) who have all either qualified for the NCAA tournament or been named All-Ivy, experience for the young fencer looked like it might have to wait for her sophomore season. Cu-Cu-Ca-Choo, Robinson has excelled and could find a spot in the starting rotation at the Ivy League Championships after having the best finish among epee (fifth) at the Temple Open and 11 wins at the Vassar Invitational. “Christie Robinson is an especially promising freshman,” said Thompson. “She had amazing results at Temple and helped the epee squad a lot at Vassar. Christie's a wonderful addition to the team and I look forward to fencing with her for the rest of the season.”
Next Match: This will be Cornell's last match of the fall semester. It will also be the last tune-up as a team before the first round of the Ivy League Championships, which will be held at Newman Arena on Feb. 21.
