Kopylov Earns Sabre Title as Fencing Wins New England Champ
The men’s and women’s fencing teams won the New England Championship last weekend, the seventh time ever that both teams have won the title during the same year. The men’s squad earned its 24th title while the women tallied their 14th crown.
A margin of three victories over Boston College was just enough to help the men’s team secure its first championship since 2005-06. Igor Kopylov ’09 (10-2) earned his third straight sabre title, becoming the first person to achieve this milestone since Alan Williams ’85 won three consecutive epee crowns from 1982-85. The Engineers tied Boston College for first place in the sabre competition as Maximilian L. Brand ’11 (9-3) earned sixth and Rangarajan D. Nadadur ’10 (10-1) finished tenth in the individual rankings.
The foil team posted a 29-7 mark en route to a second-place finish. Spencer R. Sugimoto ’08 (9-3) placed second, equaling his best finish since his rookie season. Benjamin T. Switala ’09 and Richard C. LaGrandier ’11 captured the 10th and 11th slots with identical records of 10-2.
Gabriel A. Chan ’09 emerged from the épée “B” pool to record a fifth-place finish while MIT captured third as a team. Matt L. Gethers ’09 captured seventh behind a 10-2 outing while Jeremy S. Hurwitz ’08 just missed the cut as he finished third with a 10-2 ledger in the “C” pool.
The women’s team claimed its first New England Championship since 2004-05 after back-to-back runner-up finishes. The team edged out Wellesley College by six victories in the final team standings.
Cordelia S. Link ’10 finished second in the individual rankings of the top foil pool with a 12-0 showing, powering the Engineers to a first-place tie with Wellesley. Lindley C. Graham ’10 compiled a mark of 10-3 in the “B” pool while placing seventh overall. In the “C” pool, Chun Li ’08 went 11-2 to finish twelfth among all competitors.
The sabre squad placed second with a record of 30-8. Yuhsin Chen ’08 registered a career-best fourth-place finish with a record of 11-2. In her first appearance, Elena A. Tatarchenko ’11 ranked seventh after emerging from the “C” pool with a 10-2 total. Laura A. Evans ’10 bolstered the Engineers’ efforts with a 12th-place finish and a 9-4 record in the “B” pool.
The épée team captured fourth place, anchored by Stephanie H. Shin ’10. Shin went 10-3 and finished ninth in the individual standings. Zhenya Gu ’08 (9-4) finished twelfth in the “C” pool, and Joanna W. Tong ’08 (7-6) rounded out the contingent in the “B” pool.