The women's fencing team had an action-packed week, hosting Wellesley College in a home meet last Wednesday before traveling to the Stevens Institute of Technology for the Stevens Tech Meet last Sunday. The women notched an overall 4-1 record at Stevens against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Farleigh Dickinson University, Temple University and host Stevens. The team also pulled out a 14-13 win over the Wellesley Blue in an extremely close match.The women prevailed in a 17-10 match against Stevens while comfortably beating NJIT by a 20-7 margin. The Judges also comfortably defeated FDU, winning 21-6. The team's bout against Johns Hopkins was extremely exciting and came down to the wire before the Judges were able to pull out with the 14-13 nail-biting victory.

The team did suffer a 21-6 loss at the hands of Temple.

Overall, coach Bill Shipman said that he was proud of the team's performance.

"They did extremely well, only losing once, while notching some impressive victories. . Our team is in the process of overcoming the loss of some of our most experienced fencers during the season and has done so with good wins over [New York University] and Wellesley."

Saber was the team's strongest weapon, as Zoe Messinger '13 earned a 9-3 record and Anna Hanley '11 went 8-4 on the day's action. Messinger earned University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honors for her results. Vikki Nunley '13 led the foil squad with a formidable 11-4 margin at the tournament.

Captain Emma Larkin '11, an épée fencer, agreed with Shipman that the team had a great tournament.

"Overall, we performed well, and even with the loss against Temple, the épée team did a good job on the day," she said.

The Judges' victory in the Wellesley meet did not come without its challenges. The meet was originally scheduled to take place 3 weeks ago but was postponed twice due to snow. Finally set to begin, Larkin was struck with food poisoning, placing the team at a notable disadvantage. The épée team lost 7-2 against an experienced squad, with both wins coming from Leah Mack '14.

The foil team, distinct for its youth, had difficulty handling Wellesley's top seniors but impressively held on to clinch the victory, thanks in large part to a notable 5-1 win by Alex Turner '11 in the third round.

"This was a good meet for some of our younger fencers, who will gain some more experience in preparing to compete for future meets, including Stevens Tech on Sunday."

Once again, saber was where the Judges held their best advantage. The team triumphed with an undefeated 9-0 record over the Blue. Hanley, Messinger and Emmily Smith '13 all contributed three wins to the decisive victory.

"We knew we had the advantage in saber, and we made the most of it," Shipman said. "There were several close bouts, but fortunately we were able to win all nine."

"Focus was the key this week," Larkin said of the team's wins on the week. "We tried our hardest against our teams and put forth our best effort. That's what makes the difference in these bouts."

The women, along with the men's fencers, host the Boston Beanpot Tournament tomorrow at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, where they will take on Harvard University, Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.