(We regret a delay in posting Ivy League recap info. today, due to some unforeseen technical and schedule issues ... but the blog is quickly catching up, today and tomorrow).
A talented group of freshman women's fencers cemented their place in Ivy League history on Sunday at Brown University, as first-year fencers combined to capture 11 of the 18 spots on the all-Ivy League women's fencing lists (six of the nine first teamers also are freshmen). Those 11 rookies were evenly-spaced among the weapons, with four foilists, three epeeists and four sabreists. Columbia, Penn and Princeton each boast three of these elite newcomers on their rosters, while Harvard has two.
Those two Harvard freshmen – epee Olympian Noam Mills (17-1; Kfar Saba, Israel) and sabreist Caroline Vloka (16-2; Upper Saddle River, N.J.) – finished atop their respective weapon groups (based on win pct.), while Princeton newcomer Lucile Jarry (12-2; Larchmont, N.Y.) finished second in foil, behind only Olympian Emily Cross (16-2; Harvard, Sr.; New York, NY).
In addition to the three fencers mentioned above, the other freshman women who earned first team all-Ivy League honors included Princeton epeeist Susannah Scanlan (16-2; St. Paul, Minn.), and the Columbia sabre duo of Stephanie Aiuto (16-2; Great Neck, N.Y.) and Sammy Roberts (15-3; Upper Saddle River, N.J.).
Two Columbia All-Americans – sophomore foilist Nicole Ross (14-4) and junior epeeist Tess Finkel (12-3), both New York City natives – rounded out the group of first team all-Ivy League performers.
Cross claimed first-team Ivy League status for the third time in her career (she did not fence for Harvard in '07 or '08, due to Olympic qualifying), while Ross earned first-team distinction for the second straight season. It marks the first time since 2006 that an Ivy League women's fencer has been a three-time (or four-time) first-teamer. Chloe Stinetorf, Cross' former foil teammate at Harvard, registered first-team honors every from from 2003-06, as did Princeton foilist Jacqueline Leahy from '04-'06.
The impact of the deep and talented freshman group mentioned above (nearly one dozen strong) led to several proven veterans failing to replicate their first-team performances from earlier seasons. Princeton senior epeeist Jasjit Bhinder came up short in her bid for a third time on the first team all-Ivy group (she finished 9-6, also falling outside second-team status), while six others failed to earn first-team honors for the second time in their careers: Penn senior foilist Ilana Sinkin (9-8), Columbia sophomore foilist Abby Caparros-Jantos (7-11), Harvard senior epeeist Maria Larsson (14-4), Yale junior epeeist Rebecca Moss (11-6), Columbia sophomore epeeist Martyna Urbanowicz (4-7), and Columbia sophomore sabreist Jackie Jacobson (14-4).
Larsson and Jacobson did finish with second-team Ivy League honors, as did five freshmen: Penn foilists Laura Paragano (12-6) and Mia Howell (10-7), Princeton foilist Andrea Oliva (8-6), Columbia epeeist Neely Brandfield-Harvey (13-5), and Penn sabreist Dominika Franciskowicz (13-4). Cornell junior epeeist Katherine Thompson (13-5) and Penn sophomore sabreist Danielle Kamis (13-5) completed the group of 18 women's fencers who posted all-Ivy League finishes.
Columbia junior Daria Schneider – a two-time All-American, '07 NCAA champ and '08 Olympic hopeful – again did not compete, possibly due to the lingering effects of an injury suffered a few weeks ago at a World Cup event. That injury had prevented Schneider (an Ivy League first-teamer in '06 and '07) from competing in part-1 of the Ivy League Round-Robin (Feb. 8, at Columbia).
Despite the absence of Schneider, the Columbia women's sabreists completed a dominant display over the two-day Ivy League meet – as Aiuto, Roberts and Jacobson combined to win an impressive 83% of their total bouts (45-9).
Columbia totaled the most 2009 all-conference women's performers (6), followed by four each from Harvard and Penn, three from Princeton and one Cornell fencer. In addition to the 11 freshmen, the all-league honorees included three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors (each of those classes had one first-teamer).
Nearly one-third of the 2009 all-Ivy women's fencers (5 of 18) are New York natives, with the others including three from New Jersey, two Pennsylvania-area fencers, and one each from California, Georgia (the U.S. state), Israel, Oklahoma, Sweden and Texas.
2009 ALL-IVY LEAGUE WOMEN'S FENCERS
WOMEN'S FOIL
First Team
Emily Cross (Harvard, Sr.; New York, NY ... 16-2/.889)
Lucile Jarry (Princeton, Fr.; Larchmont, NY ... 12-2/.857)
Nicole Ross (Columbia, So.; New York, NY ... 14-4 (.778)
Second Team
Laura Paragano (Penn, Fr.; Bernardsville, NJ ... 12-6/.667)
Mia Howell (Penn, Fr.; San Francisco, CA ... 10-7/.588)
Andrea Oliva (Princeton, Fr.; Philadelphia, PA ... 8-6/.571)
WOMEN'S EPEE
First Team
Noam Mills (Harvard, Fr.; Kfar Saba, Israel ... 17-1/.944)
Susannah Scanlan (Princeton, Fr.; St. Paul, MN ... 16-2/.889)
Tess Finkel (Columbia, Jr.; New York, NY ... 12-3/.800)
Second Team
Maria Larsson (Harvard, Sr.; Stockholm, Sweden ... 14-4/.778)
Katherine Thompson (Cornell, Jr.; Edmond, OK ... 13-5/.722)
Neely Brandfield-Harvey (Columbia, Fr.; Houston, TX ... 13-5/.722)
WOMEN'S SABRE
First Team
Caroline Vloka (Harvard, Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ ... 16-2/.889)
Stephanie Aiuto (Columbia, Fr.; Great Neck, NY ... 16-2/.889)
Sammy Roberts (Columbia, Fr.; Upper Saddle River, NJ ... 15-3/.833)
Second Team
Jackie Jacobson (Columbia, So.; Atlanta, GA ... 14-4/.778)
Dominika Franciskowicz (Penn, Fr.; Mt. Prospect, IL ... 13-4/.765)
Danielle Kamis (Penn, So.; Gladwyne, PA ... 13-5/.722)