PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team faced a tough slate of top-15 teams at the Temple Invitational Sunday. The Blue Jays went 0-5 on the day and finish the regular season with a 19-20 record.
 
Hopkins opened the day against 10^th-ranked Penn and fell 18-9 to the Quakers. Lauren Prieur won two of her three bouts to lead the Sabre squad to a 6-3 loss. Rosy Cepero did the same in a 7-2 loss for the Foil squad. And in the Epee, it was Ameera Ebrahim leading the way with two wins in a tough 5-4 loss.
 
The Blue Jays faced the host and eighth-ranked Temple Owls in the second round. The home team pulled out a 15-12 win. The Sabre squad took a big 8-1 win for the Blue Jays, led by a combined six wins from Josephine Chang and Adele Dai. Cepero again won twice but the Foil squad fell, 7-2. Ebrahim and Katelyn McShine picked up one win each in a 7-2 loss for the Epee squad.
 
JHU followed that with a 19-8 loss to 13^th-ranked St. John's. Cepero won two of her three bouts in a tough 5-4 loss by the Foil squad. Mariela Abramson did the same as the Epee squad also lost a close 5-4 decision. The Sabre squad fell 9-0.
 
Hopkins then lost 17-10 to fourth-ranked Princeton, highlighted by a 6-3 win for the Foil squad. Cepero, Sophia Baleeiro and Camille Oteyza each won twice to lead the Foil squad to victory. In the Epee, Ebrahim won twice in a 7-2 loss for JHU. And in the Sabre, Prieur and Jessie Tong won once each in a 7-2 loss.
 
The Blue Jays ended the day with a close 15-12 loss to 15^th-ranked Penn State. The Epee squad grabbed a 5-4 win behind two wins each for Abramson and McShine. Cepero won all three of her bouts in a 6-3 loss for the Foil squad. Prieur won two of her three bouts in a tight 5-4 loss for the Sabre squad.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, March 1 at the NIWFA Championships in Madison, NJ.
 
Notes: Chang now ranks third in Johns Hopkins history with 248 career Sabre wins • She needs just one win to move into a tie for second place • Cepero ranks fifth with 211 career Foil wins • Ebrahim ranks 14^th with 135 career Epee wins.