Results

MADISON, N.J. – Senior epee Amira Mutakabbir reached the semifinals of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Region Championship for the second time in her career, leading the Drew University women's fencing team on Saturday in the Simon Forum.
 
Twelve members of the squad took part in the event, taking on some of the best competitors in all of college fencing. Four Rangers advanced beyond their opening round.

Drew was serving as the host of the event for the second year in a row.
 
Mutakabbir opened with a tremendous performance in the first round, winning her first five bouts en route to a 5-1 showing, punching her ticket into the quarterfinals. Along with the way, she defeated fencers from NJIT, Temple, Wagner, North Carolina, and Lafayette.
 
She followed up by going 3-2 in the next round, knocking off opponents from Wagner, Stevens, and North Carolina. Mutakabbir's run came to an end in a loaded semifinal field in which four of the six competitors moved onto the final. She went 1-4 and defeated eventual finalist and eighth-place finisher Tatiana Zafft of North Carolina by a score of 5-2. It was Zafft's only loss of the round.
 
Mutakabbir also reached the semifinals as a sophomore in 2023, when she placed 16th.
 
Also in epee, senior Brenna Behensky added a 32nd-place finish for the Rangers after going 3-3 in the first round. She copped victories over opponents from Penn, Penn State, and Temple.
 
Senior Izzy Anderson and freshman Elliot Yap each finished 1-5 to place 49th and 51st, respectively.
 
Two foilists also advances for Drew, as freshman Filiz Erdogan and senior Assata Mutakabbir each finished 3-3 in their opening round. Erdogan prevailed over opponents from North Carolina, Lafayette, and Johns Hopkins and finished 29th overall while Mutakabbir defeated foes from Stevens, Lafayette, and Fairleigh Dickinson.  Erdogan and Mutakabbir finished 29th and 30th, respectively after both went 0-5 in the quarterfinals.
 
Junior Bella Hatzoglu and freshman Tala Varoqua were also in action in foil. Hatzoglu went 2-4 to finish 32nd while Varoqua notched a 1-4 mark to place 35th.
 
The Rangers also had four fencers competing in sabre, led by senior Sophie Gajowskyj, who opened the day by going 3-3 to reach the quarterfinals. She started the day with wins over fencers from Temple, NJIT, and Wagner before finishing 2-3 in the second round, topping opponents from Johns Hopkins and Penn State on her way to posting a career-best 22nd-place finish.
 
Senior Nzingha Mutakabbir added a 2-4 showing in sabre to finish 32nd while freshman Jay Cusson went 1-5 to finish 38th. Sophomore Eva Esqueda was 0-6 and came in 39th.