RESULTS
Men • vs. Hunter | vs. Lafayette
Women • vs. LIU-Post | vs. LIU-Post (2) | vs. Hunter | vs. CCNY | vs. Lafayette

MADISON, N.J. (Nov. 7, 2015) – The Drew University men's and women's fencing teams opened their 2015-16 seasons this afternoon as they hosted the inaugural Drew Fall Fencing Classic in the Simon Forum. Drew University hosted the City College of New York, Hunter College, Lafayette College and LIU-Post in the Fall Classic.

The Drew men's fencing team split their two decisions on the day, suffering the the first close loss of the year, 14-13, to Hunter College and picking up a 15-12 victory over Lafayette College.

"Getting a win over Lafayette was very satisfying for our whole team, especially getting it done in the final round," said head coach Vincent Paragano. "Ian Ratcliffe moved from sabre to epee, and what a performance he had getting the final touch in overtime."

On the women's side the Rangers pulled off the clean sweep of their five opponents defeating City College of New York 17-10, Hunter College 20-7, Lafayette College 19-8 and LIU-Post 18-9 and 16-11 to improve their season record to 5-0.

"I told them they would have to show up in very good shape," Paragano said. "That did just that, they kept their heads about them and we got on top of each team early and never looked back."

The sabre proved to be the weapon of strength on the women's side of the Drew Fall Fencing Classic as the team tallied a combined 41 of a possible 45 points for the weapon. Drew also picked up two 9-0 victories for the sabre. Senior Sarah Silvestri put on a dominating performance with the sabre, picking up 12 victories for the Rangers going 3-0 in each of her four matches this afternoon. Freshman Caitlin Kotz had a memorable Drew debut with the foil, posting a 10-1 record while seeing action in all five matches on Saturday.

After falling behind 8-1 to Hunter College in foil competition, the Drew men's fencing team picked up a 7-2 victory in the sabre and a 5-4 victory in the epee. The 8-1 foil defeat proved to be too large a deficit for the Rangers to overcome as Hunter picked up a slim 14-13 victory. Tides would turn against Lafayette as the Rangers picked up a 6-3 victory in the foil and a 5-4 triumph in the epee to take the match, 15-12. The sabre also proved to be the best weapon for the men as they would win a total of 11 of 18 possible points. Drew newcomers Brian Heist and Patrick Janitor both went 4-2 on the day with the sabre. Junior Ian Ratcliffe added a 4-2 record in the epee for the Blue & Green, including the epic overtime win against Lafayette that clinched the match for the Rangers.

Freshman Andrew Pidhorodeckyj made his collegiate debut and went 5-1 in the epee competitions against Lafayette and Hunter.

"Drew Fencing picked up six victories today against local rivals," Paragano said. "Three of the matches for the women were against EWFC opponents, so we'll see them again later on in the season. And most importantly, everyone on the team got in at least one bout today. They all got a taste of competition, and a taste of victory. We have some things to work on, but it's a lot easier to do that after you already have some wins under your belt."

The Drew fencing teams look to improve on their season records following a week off, as both the men and women will head to Haverford, Pa. on Saturday November 21, to take part in the MACFA Group A Round Robin Tournament.