NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (November 4, 2024) – It was an all-SHU final in the epee on Saturday afternoon, as the Sacred Heart University women's fencing team had the top two finishers in the event at the NEIFC Big One, hosted by Smith College. Maria Alvim (Lisbon, Portugal) posted a 15-9 win over teammate Nadia Gaberkorn (Marlboro, N.J.), as the former claimed gold medal honors and the latter took silver. Jenna Jacinto (Dix Hills, N.Y.) added a medal as well with a sixth-place finish in the foil to cap the day.
 
Alvim and Gaberkorn both had enough success in pool play to earn byes through to the round of 32. From there, Alvim rattled off five straight wins to claim the title, including a tightly-contested, 15-12 triumph over Julia Lin of Dartmouth in the semifinal round. For her part, Gaberkorn squeaked past teammate Grace Baranosky (Fairfield, Conn.) in the round of 32, 15-12, to kickstart her own run to the final. Gabrielle Phelan (Smithtown, N.Y.) finished 14^th after using a 15-13 win over Vassar's Katrina Zeng to advance to the round of 16. Baranosky finished in 32^nd, to make it four Pios in the top half of the 81-fencer field.
 
SHU had only two competitors in the sabre competition, but both scored top-15 finishes in a 67-competitor field. Jessica Murphy (Lincoln Park, N.J.) took 13^th and Valery Krylova (Shelton, Conn.) placed 15^th, as both advanced to the round of 16.
 
Jacinto led the way in the foil, as she advanced to the quarterfinals and ultimately finished sixth, in a 68-fencer field, to earn SHU's third medal of the day. Elle Yurkstas (Mansfield, Mass.) made it two in the top 20, as she finished 20^th.
 
The Pios are back in action on Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Vassar Invitational.
 
Results
 
Senior Women's Epee
Maria Alvim – 1^st (of 81, gold medalist)
Nadia Gaberkorn – 2^nd (silver medalist); advanced to final
Gabrielle Phelan – 14^th; advanced to round of 16
Grace Baranosky – 32^nd; advanced to round of 32
Brigid McMahon – 42^nd
Nicole Dioh – 46^th
Ines Benadouda – T-58^th
 
Senior Women's Sabre
Jessica Murphy – 13^th (of 67); advanced to round of 16
Valery Krylova – 15^th; advanced to round of 16
 
Senior Women's Foil
Jenna Jacinto – 6^th (of 68, medalist); advanced to quarterfinal
Elle Yurkstas – 20^th; advanced to round of 32
Megan DePersis – 23^rd; advanced to round of 32