Johns Hopkins University has won the 2009-10 Eastern Women's Fencing Conference Dual Meet Championship by going 6-0 against the rest of the league in a long but very exciting day of competition. The round robin tournament was held at the Hunter College Sportsplex in New York, NY.
The Blue Jays recorded victories over Yeshiva University 17-10, Drew University 18-9, Stevens Institute of Technology 14-13, Hunter College 19-8, City College of New York 14-13, and Haverford College 14-13. The final meet, pitting Johns Hopkins against defending champion Haverford, reversed last year's title-determining result.
Stevens Institute of Technology placed second with a 5-1 record for the day, while Haverford College finished third at 4-2, and Drew University ended up fourth at 3-3. Rounding out the conference standings were City College of New York at 2-4, Hunter College at 1-5, and Yeshiva University at 0-6.
Johns Hopkins University claims its first EWFC Dual Meet Championship in the program's third season in the league. Haverford College had earned its initial crown last winter after ending a six-year run at the top by Drew University. The Blue Jays were led by junior Sofia DeBenedictis, who went 18-0 in foil bouts.
The Eastern Women's Fencing Conference is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season. The league was established during the 2000-01 campaign, and implemented the single-day Dual Meet Championship format in 2002-03. Hunter College also hosted that inaugural event at the program's underground facility.
EWFC charter members City College of New York, Hunter College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Yeshiva University were joined in the conference by Drew University for the 2002-03 championships, Haverford College in the 2005-06 season, and Johns Hopkins University as of the 2007-08 campaign.
EWFC DUAL MEET CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS / FEBRUARY 21, 2010
R1: Haverford beat Hunter 20-7 ... Drew beat Yeshiva 15-12 ... Stevens beat CCNY 16-11.
R2: Drew beat CCNY 15-12 ... Stevens beat Hunter 22-5 ... Johns Hopkins beat Yeshiva 17-10.
R3: Johns Hopkins beat Drew 18-9 ... Stevens beat Haverford 15-12 ... CCNY beat Hunter 16-11.
R4: Hunter beat Yeshiva 19-8 ... Haverford beat CCNY 19-8 ... Johns Hopkins beat Stevens 14-13.
R5: Haverford beat Drew 18-9 ... Johns Hopkins beat Hunter 19-8 ... CCNY beat Yeshiva 19-8.
R6: Stevens beat Drew 17-10 ... Johns Hopkins beat CCNY 14-13 ... Haverford beat Yeshiva 18-9.
R7: Stevens beat Yeshiva 26-1 ... Drew beat Hunter 14-13 ... Johns Hopkins beat Haverford 14-13.
The league's seven members will meet on the strips again next week as Stevens Institute of Technology hosts the EWFC Individual Championships in Hoboken, NJ. All-Conference honors will be bestowed upon 27 fencers, nine in each of the three weapons categories, at the conclusion of the day's action.
