CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (November 22, 2023) – The Sacred Heart University women's fencing team was in action on Sunday, at the Northeast Fencing Conference #1 Meet, hosted by Boston College at Connell Recreation Center. The Pios suffered losses in each of their eight matches on the day to finish ninth. Nadia Gaberkorn (Marlboro, N.J.) in the epee, as well as Valery Krylova (Shelton, Conn.) and Natalie Mataiev (Norwood, Mass.) in the sabre, all collected double-digit wins on the day.
 
"With the numbers on our women's team, they do not have any subs, so they are fencing every bout on the day," said head coach Khristopher White. "While it is not an excuse, I understand how draining it could be for them. Nonetheless, they definitely showed fight today, with Nadia, Valery and Natalie having positive records on the day."
 
SHU opened the competition with a 21-6 loss at the hands of Tufts, before dropping a tightly-contested, 16-11 decision to Wagner. After losses of 19-8 to Brandeis and 23-4 to both Brown and MIT, the Pios had a more-competitive, 17-10 defeat against Vassar. SHU closed out the day with 18-9 and 22-5 losses to Wellesley and Boston College, repsectively.
 
The sabre squad had far and away the most successful day for the Pioneers. Mataiev went 15-9 to narrowly miss out on All-Star accolades after the competition wrapped up. Krylova added a 13-11 mark of her own, as part of a 32-win showing for the sabre team, good for a .444 winning percentage.
 
Elsewhere, Gaberkorn notched a 16-8 record across 24 epee bouts.
 
"They showed some good things today and should continue to hold their heads up high," said White of his team. "The season is long from over!"
 
Sacred Heart is idle on Thanksgiving Weekend and hosts its annual home meet, the SHU Tradition, on Sunday, Dec. 3, in the Pitt Center.