Madison, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's fencing team finished tied for fourth at the NIWFA Championship on Saturday.

Stevens tied with FDU, highlighted by a fourth-place finish from the foil squad. The Ducks also placed sixth in sabre and ninth in epee.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Foil delivered Stevens' strongest performance, as Akemi Rodriguez, Emily Zgombic, and Julia DiPaolo each posted a +9 or better touch differential. DiPaolo was dominant in pool play, going 11-2 with 61 touches scored while surrendering just 24 for a +37 margin. Zgombic followed with 10 victories and 56 touches scored for a +30, while Rodriguez added eight wins and 47 touches.

Following pool play, Zgombic earned the No. 5 seed in the tableau, Rodriguez was seeded eighth, and DiPaolo entered as the No. 13 seed.

At epee, Sofia Stoeckel led the group with six victories, recording 48 touches across 13 bouts. Grace Hicks followed with five wins and 43 touches over 12 bouts. Madison Gavilanes posted the top touch differential for the unit at +6, tallying 31 touches while going 4-3, and Katherine Mooney added two victories and 19 touches in six bouts.

Ashlyn Leung paced the sabre squad with a team-best nine victories, scoring 54 touches with a +16 margin. Sasha Craine and Anastasia Mose each recorded six wins, with Craine scoring 44 touches and Mose finishing close behind with 43.

In the tableau, all three Stevens foilists battled in the round of 16, with Rodriguez falling 15-8 to No. 9 Layla Roy of Tufts in the closest bout. Hicks earned the No. 11 seed at epee but was knocked off by Nicole Yu of Johns Hopkins University. At sabre, Leung (No. 10) and Craine (No. 12) also bowed out in the round of 16, with Craine falling 15-7 to Emily Xu of Tufts and Leung dropping a 15-4 decision to Keely Carter of Temple.

UP NEXT
The Ducks will compete in the NCAA Regional Championship next Saturday at Haverford College.