Saturday, November 4
Northampton, Mass.
Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics
at
Smith College
Photo by: ©Mark F. Conrad
Women’s Fencing Collects Four Medals at Season-Opening NEIFC Invitational
11/4/2023 11:24:00 PM | Women's Fencing
Trio of Pios repeat as medalists from a year ago
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (November 4, 2023) – It was a quartet of medals to open the season on Saturday for the Sacred Heart University women's fencing team, as the Pioneers kicked off their 2023-24 campaign at the NEIFC Fall Invitational, colloquially known as "The Big One", hosted by Smith College. A trio of semifinalists led the way, as Jenna Jacinto (Dix Hills, N.Y.) tied third in the foil, Valery Krylova (Shelton, Conn.) tied third in the sabre, and Nadia Gaberkorn (Marlboro, N.J.) tied third in the epee. Meanwhile, Natalie Mataiev (Norwood, Mass.) added a sixth-place finish in the sabre.
The tournament features pool play for seeding purposes, followed by a knockout tournament in each weapon. Medals are awarded to those who reach the quarterfinals or better (i.e.: top eight) in each event. For SHU, the four medals at the meet matched the squad's output from a year ago. Krylova, Gaberkorn and Mataiev were all repeat medalists from the 2022 Big One.
Competition opened with the foil, where Jacinto went a perfect 5-0 out of Pool #8, outscoring her opponents 25-5 in the process and recording two shutouts along the way to earn the fifth seed and a bye in the round of 64. The Empire State native then went on a crusade against the state of Massachusetts, with a 15-2 romp over Adelaide Mahoney of UMass (Round of 32), a 15-5 triumph over Jasminder Sarkaira of Northeastern (Round of 16) and a 15-10 victory over Amelia Shuppert of MIT. Top seed and eventual champion Amber Peng of MIT avenged her teammate though, and dealt Jacinto a 15-9 defeat in the semifinal round to bring the latter's run to an end.
Also in the foil for the Pios, Elle Yurkstas (Mansfield, Mass.) went 4-2 in pool play on her way to an 18th-place finish, Sam Syrek notched a pair of wins in pool play and one in the Round of 64 to finish 32nd, and Jessica Young (Warren, N.J.) finished tied-42nd.
Next up was the sabre, where Krylova found her way to the semifinals and Mataiev was a quarterfinalist. Both went undefeated in pool play, with Krylova posting a 25-8 scoring margin across five matches to take the fifth seed and Mataiev registering a 25-9 margin to claim the seventh seed.
Both got a bye in the Round of 64, and then Krylova rattled off wins of 15-6 over Qio Se Ong of Mount Holyoke, 15-7 over Vassar's Abigail Geiger, and 15-11 over Rhea Bhattacharjee of MIT to make her way to the semifinal. She became the second Pio to fall to the eventual champion though, as top seeded Catherine Tang chalked up a 15-7 win to advance to the final.
For her part, Mataiev notched a 15-3 win over Sarah Toole of Mount Holyoke in the Round of 32 and followed up with a 15-9 victory over New Hampshire's Elias Boyington in the Round of 16. Her run came to an end at the hands of MIT's Anna Mikulevica in the quarterfinal round, 15-10.
Also competing in the sabre was Alexandria Lovasi, who went 4-2 in her pool, then notched a Round of 64 win before bowing out and placing 19th.
In the epee, it was Gaberkorn who led the way with a trip to the semifinals. She was also 6-0, playing out of Pool #2, and outscored her opponents 30-8 on the way to sharing the top seed with MIT's Tina Zhang. After a first-round bye, Gaberkorn dealt with Northeastern's Kelly Yam tidily in the Round of 32, with a 15-3 win, but had to work a little harder in the Round of 16, where she bettered Vassar's Aanya Mukherjee, 15-8. Gaberkorn's quarterfinal was one of the most tightly-contested matches of the day, and she gutted out a 15-14 victory over Eunice Choi of MIT. Once again, another MIT athlete avenged her teammate, as Zandra Feland edged Gaberkorn in the semifinal, 15-12, and went on to claim the title.
Brigid McMahon (Brick, N.J.) also competed in the epee for SHU, as she chalked up a pair of pool wins and finished 45th.
The Pios are back in action next weekend, when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for the Vassar Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 12.
The tournament features pool play for seeding purposes, followed by a knockout tournament in each weapon. Medals are awarded to those who reach the quarterfinals or better (i.e.: top eight) in each event. For SHU, the four medals at the meet matched the squad's output from a year ago. Krylova, Gaberkorn and Mataiev were all repeat medalists from the 2022 Big One.
Competition opened with the foil, where Jacinto went a perfect 5-0 out of Pool #8, outscoring her opponents 25-5 in the process and recording two shutouts along the way to earn the fifth seed and a bye in the round of 64. The Empire State native then went on a crusade against the state of Massachusetts, with a 15-2 romp over Adelaide Mahoney of UMass (Round of 32), a 15-5 triumph over Jasminder Sarkaira of Northeastern (Round of 16) and a 15-10 victory over Amelia Shuppert of MIT. Top seed and eventual champion Amber Peng of MIT avenged her teammate though, and dealt Jacinto a 15-9 defeat in the semifinal round to bring the latter's run to an end.
Also in the foil for the Pios, Elle Yurkstas (Mansfield, Mass.) went 4-2 in pool play on her way to an 18th-place finish, Sam Syrek notched a pair of wins in pool play and one in the Round of 64 to finish 32nd, and Jessica Young (Warren, N.J.) finished tied-42nd.
Next up was the sabre, where Krylova found her way to the semifinals and Mataiev was a quarterfinalist. Both went undefeated in pool play, with Krylova posting a 25-8 scoring margin across five matches to take the fifth seed and Mataiev registering a 25-9 margin to claim the seventh seed.
Both got a bye in the Round of 64, and then Krylova rattled off wins of 15-6 over Qio Se Ong of Mount Holyoke, 15-7 over Vassar's Abigail Geiger, and 15-11 over Rhea Bhattacharjee of MIT to make her way to the semifinal. She became the second Pio to fall to the eventual champion though, as top seeded Catherine Tang chalked up a 15-7 win to advance to the final.
For her part, Mataiev notched a 15-3 win over Sarah Toole of Mount Holyoke in the Round of 32 and followed up with a 15-9 victory over New Hampshire's Elias Boyington in the Round of 16. Her run came to an end at the hands of MIT's Anna Mikulevica in the quarterfinal round, 15-10.
Also competing in the sabre was Alexandria Lovasi, who went 4-2 in her pool, then notched a Round of 64 win before bowing out and placing 19th.
In the epee, it was Gaberkorn who led the way with a trip to the semifinals. She was also 6-0, playing out of Pool #2, and outscored her opponents 30-8 on the way to sharing the top seed with MIT's Tina Zhang. After a first-round bye, Gaberkorn dealt with Northeastern's Kelly Yam tidily in the Round of 32, with a 15-3 win, but had to work a little harder in the Round of 16, where she bettered Vassar's Aanya Mukherjee, 15-8. Gaberkorn's quarterfinal was one of the most tightly-contested matches of the day, and she gutted out a 15-14 victory over Eunice Choi of MIT. Once again, another MIT athlete avenged her teammate, as Zandra Feland edged Gaberkorn in the semifinal, 15-12, and went on to claim the title.
Brigid McMahon (Brick, N.J.) also competed in the epee for SHU, as she chalked up a pair of pool wins and finished 45th.
The Pios are back in action next weekend, when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for the Vassar Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 12.
Players Mentioned
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Sabre
/ Women's Fencing
Epee
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
/ Women's Fencing
Foil
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