Feb. 3, 2009

EVANSTON, IL - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team got back into action over the weekend at the Northwestern duals. JHU went 5-5 on the weekend with wins over Lawrence, Cleveland State, Detroit, Wayne State and Fairleigh Dickinson. Hopkins suffered losses to North Carolina, #6 Northwestern, #2 Notre Dame, #3 Ohio State and #8 Temple.

"The Northwestern duals are one of the strongest fencing weekends in the season," said head coach James Murray. "In addition to our five victories, a squad highlight was Epee's 6-3 win over the University of North Carolina."

Hopkins was dominant in its wins, defeating Lawrence 24-3, Cleveland 23-4, Detroit 23-4, Wayne State 19-8 and Fairleigh Dickinson 18-9. Four of the Blue Jays five losses came to nationally ranked teams, while the lone unranked team (North Carolina) received votes in the latest USFCA Coaches Poll. The Carolina match was the closest of the 10 matches over the weekend as the Tar Heels edged the Blue Jays 16-11, with JHU picking up a 6-3 win the Epee.

Freshman Lauren Chinn (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) led the Blue Jays with a 13-9 record on the weekend in the Epee. Freshman Nicole Salter (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) went 9-9 in the Epee. Sophomore Mary Vitale (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees) finished with a .500 record at 11-11 in the Sabre. In the Foil, junior Katie Kim (Garden City, NY/Garden City) posted a 7-5 record while senior Grace Fried (Forest Hills, NY/Stuyvesant) went 6-6.

Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, February 8 at the Temple Open.