Radcliffe Fencers Cop Fourth Place In New Englands

The Radcliffe fencing team shocked the female foil and epee world last Sunday. Seeded eighth in the New England Women's Fencing Championships, the swordswomen upset four teams to finish fourth out of 15 in the tourney.

The tournament was set up so that each team's top four fencers fought in a different bracket against all the other 14 players in that bracket.

Each Radcliffe fencer boasted at least a .500 slate in their respective series of bouts. In the A bracket, number one Leonida Rasenas was 7-7 on the day, while at two and three Kathy Lowry and Nancy Cooper each fought to a 10-4 mark. Deborah Sze at number four cruised to a fine 11-3 slate in the D bracket.

The swordswomen just missed out on the supreme upset, though. Another victorious bout on the day would have tied them for third and qualified the team for the National championships. As it happened they finished behind Yale, Brandeis, and Maine.

In the J.V. tournament Radcliffe placed fifth, with Mary Holland garnering third place in the individual championships.