Cornell fencing athletes Ketki Ketkar and Samantha Marsee earned podium finishes at the NCAA Northeast Regional held in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on March 8. Ketkar, a senior, took silver in epee while junior Marsee secured bronze in saber.
The results highlight a strong showing for Cornell’s women’s fencing team at the regional competition. The event serves as a key qualifier for the upcoming NCAA championships.
In saber, Trisha Nath, Samantha Marsee, and Reya Ghayalod all advanced to the top-12 pool. Marsee won seven of her eleven bouts to claim third place behind Yale’s Sophie Liu and Harvard’s Madison Duckett. Isabela Carvalho finished fourth, Nath placed fifth in the finals, and Ghayalod came in eleventh. This marks the first time Cornell has placed four fencers in the finals of any weapon category.
In epee, Ketkar added to her previous achievements by finishing with a silver medal after posting a 10-1 record in the round of twelve. Nora Weber went 5-6 in this round, while Columbia’s Tierna Oxenreider took gold.
Lana Lee was Cornell’s sole representative in foil during the round of twelve and finished twelfth overall with a 2-9 record.
Official announcements regarding NCAA qualifiers are expected on Tuesday, March 11. The national championships will begin on March 19 and will be hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend.
