MADISON, N.J. (October 29, 2023) – Junior sabreuse Arianna Daringa registered 12 victories in her season debut in leading the Stevens Institute of Technology women's fencing team to a perfect 6-0 record Sunday at the season-opening Rangers Fall Invitational, hosted by Drew University at the Simon Forum.

Graduate student Claire McNeill (epee) matched Daringa with 12 wins, while junior Alyssa Ip (sabre) and sophomore Emily Zgombic (foil) each posted 10 victories on the day for the Ducks, who completed Drew's annual event with a perfect record for the second time in the last three seasons (and three of the last four if you also include the Ducks' appearance in Drew's 2019 holiday event).

Collectively, the Ducks defeated Lafayette 17-10, before posting a decisive 26-1 victory over Clemson. The Ducks then recorded consecutive 15-12 wins over NJIT and Drew before posting a 27-0 win over Yeshiva. The group defeated Rutgers 17-10 to close out the event. Contextually, Stevens hasn't dropped a bout to either Lafayette, Clemson and Yeshiva and the second straight win over the Highlanders is the first time in nearly four years that Stevens has posted back-to-back wins over the Division I school. The Ducks have won the last four meetings with the Scarlet Knights since the series was resumed after nearly a 14-year hiatus. Stevens has now posted a perfect record (27-0) against at least one opponent in eight of the last nine seasons.

In addition to Daringa, the event marked the season debut for junior Nerissa Lundquist. Sophomore Amber Muzones, and first-years Akemi Rodriguez and Zoya Duarte-Garcia, joined seniors Victoria Beke and Megha Jain, in picking up their first wins of the season.

The Rundown

• The Ducks began the day with a 17-10 win over Lafayette, with the foil and sabre groups winning by identical 6-3 scores. Zgombic was a perfect 2-0, while Daringa, Ip and senior Alana Schmitt each had a pair of wins at sabre. The epee group edged its counterpart via a 5-4 margin, with McNeill and first-year Grace Hicks each going 2-0. Hicks finished the day with nine wins. 
• Clemson was up next, and the Ducks posted one of their two convincing wins on the day. Eleven different Ducks posted a perfect performance against the Tigers, while 14 went undefeated against Yeshiva.
• The sabre group boosted the Ducks over NJIT. Daringa and Schmitt each went 3-0 as the Ducks posted an 8-1 sabre victory. The seven-point cushion was ultimately needed as the Highlanders edged the Ducks 5-4 at epee, despite McNeill going 2-1, and 6-3 at foil, although Zgombic was 2-1.
• The Ducks rebounded from last week's setback against Drew, with the foil team doing the heavy lifting after the sides each had 5-4 wins at sabre (Stevens) and epee (Drew). Zgombic was a perfect 3-0 against the Rangers and dropped just one bout (of 11) on the day. Rodriguez and junior Elizabeth MacDonald combined for the other three wins to clinch the victory.
• In the final dual of the day, MacDonald and classmate Sofia Savchuk combined to go 5-0 at foil, while McNeill and junior Renny Victoria combined to go 3-0 at epee to wrap up the perfect afternoon.
• In terms of individual wins, Schmitt finished with eight wins, while MacDonald had totaled seven. Savchuk, first-year Sasha Craine and classmate Sofia Stoeckel each amassed six wins at sabre and epee, respectively, while Rodriguez and fellow first-years Paris Sepulveda (foil) and Sharon Braun (foil) each totaled four. Junior Annabelle Crescenzo (foil) joined junior Jasmine Chen (sabre), Ludquist and Duarte-Garcia in finishing the day with three wins each. Muzones, Beke and Victoria each had two wins, while Jain and sophomore Emily Miller each had one to round out the Ducks victories on the day.

Top Performers

• Collectively, the sabre group had the best winning percentage for the second straight event, finishing with a 37-8 record (.822). The foil and epee groups nearly posted identical records, with the foil team going 32-13 (.711), while the epee team went 31-14 (.689). As a team, Stevens posted an impressive 100-35 mark on the day (.741), improving on the team's .519 winning percentage from the Sharktank Challenge.
• Within their respective groups, the Ducks fell just three times against their respective counterparts. The sabre squad was a perfect 6-0, while the foilists went 5-1, falling by 6-3 margin to NJIT as the only blemish on the day. The epee team went 4-2 on the day, falling to NJIT and Drew, but defeating Lafayette, Clemson, Yeshiva and Rutgers. The Ducks posted five perfect 9-0 weapon victories, blanking Yeshiva at all three weapons and posting 9-0 margins over Clemson at sabre and epee. 

Coach's Comments

• "Great day for the women's fencing program with an undefeated day at the Fall Invitational. There were so many great individual performances." – assistant coach Linda Vollkommer-Lynch

Up Next

• Stevens heads to the Temple University Open on Nov. 4. It is the lone open tournament on the schedule. Appropriate event links will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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