Quin takes gold at The Big One

Ian Quin '20 (photo by Sportspix.com)
Ian Quin '20 (photo by Sportspix.com)

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Brandeis University fencing senior Joanne Carminucci (Brewster, N.Y./North Salem) and junior Ian Quin (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) both successfully defended their foil titles on Sunday at the season-opening New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational, also known as "The Big One". The meet marked the collegiate coaching debut for Jennie Salmon.

 

TOP PERFORMERS – MEDALISTS

  • Carminucci received the fourth seed in the direct elimination tournament after going 5-0 with just four touches received in the preliminary rounds for a +21 margin of victory. She rolled through the first two rounds of the tournament with wins of 15-1 over a foe from Vassar and 15-3 against an opponent from UMass. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Kayla Moy of Boston College, 15-6, then took out another Eagle, Lee Madison, 15-8 in the semifinals. In the title match, Carminucci topped top-seeded Cindy Shen of Dartmouth, 15-9, to earn her second-straight crown.
  • Quin was one of 10 unbeaten fencers in the prelims, earning the sixth seed with a +18 indicator. He also cruised in the first round, 15-1, over a foe from UMass, and took a 15-7 win in the second round against an MIT opponent. Things got tougher as Quin advanced, defeating Frank Riccio of Sacred Heart, 15-10, in the round of 16. Against the third seed, BC's Cameron Mayer in the quarters, Quin edged his opponent, 15-14. Facing Christopher Kiel of MIT in the semis, Quin took a 15-9 win, and then won the final by the same score against Zachary Hammer of BC, to claim another title at the event.
  • The Judges had one more foil medalist, as junior Jessica Gets (Morganville, N.J./Marlborough, N.J.) claimed bronze. Gets also went unbeaten in the prelims, finishing with a +19 indicator to earn the sixth seed. Gets defeated two teammates en route to the semifinals, topping sophomore Wendy Mao (Waltham, Mass./Villa Maria Academy), 15-8, in the second round and senior Renee Pite (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional), 15-4, in the quarters, before falling to Dartmouth's Shen in the final four.
  • Also earning bronze for the women was rookie saber fencer Jada Harrison (Jericho, N.Y./Jericho). She was seeded fifth after a 6-0 prelim round with a +18 indicator. After a first-round by, she easily handled opponents from Smith, 15-6, and WPI, 15-4. In the quarterfinals, she was locked in a battle with MIT's Anita Dey Barsukova before winning 15-13. Harrison dropped the semifinal match against Sacred Heart's Amanda Fischer.

 

TOP PERFORMERS – TOP TEN FINISHERS

  • Seven other Judges finished in the top 10 of the standings.
  • Pite joined Carminucci and Gets in the top 10 of the women's foil standings, placing seventh overall.
  • In women's saber, sophomore Devon Brown (Concord, Mass. / Concord-Carlisle) joined Harrison with a sixth-place finish, making the quarterfinals as the seventh seed with wins by 15-2 and 15-9 before suffering a 15-5 loss to Crystal Chen of BC.
  • In addition to Quin in the men's foil, sophomore Tristan Barca-Hall (Monterey, Calif./Scotts Valley) placed sixth overall, reaching the quarters with wins of 15-2, 15-14 and 15-4 before falling by another 15-4 decision. Rookie David Hui (Winchester, Mass. / Winchester) took ninth place in the competition.
  • In men's saber, the Judges saw sophomore Alex Holtmann (Bad Ueberkingen, Germany / Kantmannische Geislingen) tie for sixth place, senior Leon Rotenstein (Ashland, Mass./Ashland) finished ninth – falling to Holtmann in the quarterfinals, 15-10 – and rookie Lucas Lin (Plano, Texas / Plano West) finished in 10th place.

 

UP NEXT

  • The Judges return to action on November 17th when they compete at the first of two Northeast Fencing Conference meets at MIT.