a 3-6 at the hands of Cornell, so did the rest of the team. Sabre mirrored foil with a 3-6 loss and epee ended with another 2-7 showing for a combined 8-19 loss in what was effectively the day's championship meet.
Even though the girls did not finish in first, de Benedictis, who was participating in her first team meet, did find it a valuable experience. "It was really exciting because I've never fenced for something other than myself, but this was something higher. This time my wins and losses not only affected me, but the whole team."
The Blue Jay team hopes to continue improving this coming weekend at the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Christmas Tournament in Jersey City. With young fencers like de Benedictis and freshman sabre Mary Vitale, who also went 8-1 in Ithaca, the team seems like it has nowhere to go but up.
Gulino, another one of the young fencers on a team comprised of 11 freshmen, agrees. "Seeing the team in practice every day and looking at our skill combined with our spirit," she said. "I'm confident it's going to be a great season going forward."
