POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Yale women's fencing team opened up its 2023-24 campaign with a solid performance at the Vassar Open Invitational on Sunday.

Yale went 7-1 overall, dropping only a single match throughout the event.  Throughout the Bulldogs' seven wins, the team thoroughly dominated, defeating its opponents by an average of 17.5 points. The Elis nearly shut out Hunter en route to a 26-1 rout, allowing just a single point in the epee.

Yale's lone loss came against Cornell in the fourth round. Although the Bulldogs triumphed in the epee 6-3, the Big Red were able to win the saber and foil by scores of 6-3 and 5-4 respectively, resulting in an overall score of 14-13 in favor of Cornell.
 
The Bulldogs entered the season ranked No. 12 in the Division I pre-season coaches' poll. Their lone Division I ranked opponent of the event was No. 10 Cornell. They did, however, match up with three teams ranked in the Division III coaches' poll. Yale downed No. 2 Johns Hopkins, No. 4 Wellesley, and No. 5 Tufts during the competition. 

Yale will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 3 at the Brandeis Invitational.

Competition Results
Round 1 -- Yale 21, Wagner 6
Round 2 -- Yale 25, Drew 2
Round 3 -- Yale 22, Wellesley 5
Round 4 -- Yale 13, Cornell 14
Round 5 -- Yale 22, Stevens 5
Round 6 -- Yale 22, JHU 5
Round 7 -- Yale 26, Hunter 1
Round 8 -- Yale 18, Tufts 9