Results

EASTON, Pa. – Sophomore Amira Mutakabbir placed 16th among 36 competitors in epee to lead the Drew University women's fencing team at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Region Championships on Saturday at Lafayette College.
 
A total of five Rangers competed at the event – the most since the 2019 squad also had five qualifiers. Amira Mutakabbir, junior Caira Blake, and sophomore Brenna Behensky were each making their second straight regional appearance while sophomores Assata Mutakabbir and Sophie Gajowskyj were each making their regional debut.
 
A total of 36 fencers competed in each weapon. Twelve fencers were eliminated in the opening round before six more were dropped after both the second and third rounds.
 
Amira Mutakabbir opened with a 3-2 showing in the first round, defeating opponents from Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, and Stevens. She followed up with a 2-3 performance in the second round, notching wins over fencers from NJIT and Princeton, to move on to the third round. She bowed out with a 1-4 mark and a win over a Penn State opponent.
 
Mutakabbir's 16th-place regional finish was the best by a Drew women's fencer since Katie Galpin placed 14th in 2009.
 
Blake posted Drew's second-best finish of the day with her 24th-place mark in epee. She also advanced out of the first round after starting 3-2 with wins over fencers from Temple, Wagner, and Johns Hopkins before going 0-5 in the second round.
 
Behensky placed 34th in epee after going 1-4 in first round, topping an opponent from Johns Hopkins.
 
Assata Mutakabbir also picked up a win for the Rangers, going 1-4 in foil with a victory over a fencer from Wagner en route to a 31st-place finish. Gajowskyj was 0-5 in the first round of the saber competition and came in 36th.
 
The Rangers will now hope for possible berths in the NCAA National Championships, set for March 23-26 at Duke University. Qualification to the NCAA Championships will be based 40 percent on regular-season results and 60 percent on finish at the NCAA regional. NCAA Championship qualifiers will be announced on Tuesday.