Feb. 7, 2008

EVANSTON, IL - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team won six of its 12 matches last weekend at the Northwestern Duals and is now 13-11 on the season. Seven different Blue Jays posted double-digit win totals, including senior captain Cindy Liu (Walnut, CA/Walnut) with 15 wins.

"Cindy's role this weekend went beyond her victories," head coach James Murray commented. "As our team captain, she brings stability and confidence to the team. During the two-day event, she kept the team focused and took care of the intangible details that allowed everyone to do their best."

Sophomore Samantha Dolan (S. Pasadena, CA/S. Pasadena) and junior Grace Fried (Forest Hills, NY/Stuyvesant) each posted more than 20 wins in leading the Foil team to a 71-37 record on the weekend. Dolan won 22 of 32 bouts and is now 27-12 on the year. Fried won 23 of 30 bouts in the two days.

In the Epee, Liu won 15 bouts and is now 19-17 overall. Also posting double-digit wins were freshman Corinne Warren (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) (17-15) and sophomore Ying Guo (Fargo, ND/Fargo South) (14-20). The Epee team was 51-57 on the weekend. Freshman Mary Vitale (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees) led the Sabre team to a 44-64 weekend with an 18-15 record. She is now 26-16 overall.

On Saturday, Hopkins defeated Cleveland State (20-7), Detroit Mercy (18-9) and Lawrence (20-7). JHU then lost to #6 Northwestern (25-2), North Carolina (19-8) and Wayne State (14-13). The Blue Jays picked up wins on Sunday against Cal State Fullerton (24-3), Cal Tech (24-3) and Fairleigh Dickinson (22-5). JHU suffered losses to #1 Notre Dame (26-1), Duke (20-7) and UC San Diego (20-7).

Hopkins is now preparing for its first appearance in the Eastern Women's Fencing Conference Championships. The team (dual-meet) championships take place on Sunday, February 10 at Drew University. JHU will face City Tech, Drew, Haverford, Hunter and Yeshiva. On Sunday, February 17, Stevens Tech will host the Individual Championships.