Fencing Wraps up January NAC with Individual and Team Success

Friday, January 4

Charlotte, N.C.

All Day

Temple University

January NAC

Fencing Wraps up January NAC with Individual and Team Success

1.7.19 | Women's Fencing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An exciting second-place finish in Senior Team Women's Sabre highlighted the second two days of the four-day January North American Cup (NAC) for Temple fencing. The earlier part of the meet saw an impressive 32nd-place individual finish in Division I Women's Sabre for senior Blessing Olaode.

Meet Summary (Days 3 and 4)
> Sophomore Kennedy Lovelace placed 38th to lead the Owls in Division I Women's Foil, finishing well above her seeding coming in. She went 5-1 in the pool round before winning her first direct elimination match and was ultimately defeated by top 16 finisher Renata Chusid.
> The Owls' sabre squad earned an exciting second-place finish in the Senior Team Women's Sabre event. Malia Hee, Eva Hinds, Blessing Olaode and Kerry Plunkett made up the competition squad.
> The foursome edged Cornell 45-44 to advance to the gold medal bout. They trailed the Big Red 40-38 heading into the final bout before Hee outscored Gillian Harrill 7-4 for the exciting finish.
> Temple faced off against the elite Bergen Fencing Club in the championship match, falling just 45-35 against two-time NCAA Women's Sabre Champion Francesca Russo, Team USA fencer Celina Merza and bronze medalist at the 2018 World Championships, Anne-Elizabeth Stone. Finishing third behind Temple was the Boston Fencing Club.
> Hinds outscored both Stone and Merza, while Plunkett also outscored Merza.
> In the Senior Team Women's Epee event on Monday, Temple placed fourth, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Northwestern.
> Temple finished ninth of 14 teams in the Senior Team Women's Foil event.

Quotable - Assistant Coach/Sabre Coach Josh Herring
> "The sabre squad did really well and showed strength as a unit and individually to beat very strong competition both at the collegiate and national level. This was really good preparation for the rest of the season and we're definitely looking forward to seeing what they can do."

Quotable - Head Coach Dr. Nikki Franke
> "The epee team event was very exciting and the girls really worked together well in strategizing against the other teams."
> "This meet was a good way for us to start the spring semester and get ready for the dual meet season. We're excited for our next competition next weekend at Penn State."

Up Next
> Temple resumes its dual meet season at the Penn State Invitational on Sunday, Jan. 13, taking on PSU, Columbia, Yale, Duke and Haverford.