March 4, 2007

NORTHAMPTON, MA - The Temple fencing team placed first in the foil and sabre team competitions while finishing second in the epee event en route to winning its 11th consecutive Olympian's Trophy at the NIWFA Championships on Saturday at Smith College.

Finishing second behind the Cherry and White was Johns Hopkins, while both Haverford College and Drew University placed third in the overall Olympian Trophy standings.

Temple head coach Nikki Franke mentioned several Owls as key contributors to their title defense.

"In the team events, Kristine Jones was 8-0, Christie Griffith was 7-0 and Nina Gernes, Meredith Bratton and Abby Schifferle all went 5-0," said Franke. "It was a long day of competition and I was very pleased that we were able to defend our championship."

The Owls' first place foil team performance was followed, again, by Johns Hopkins and Tufts University in third. Sophomore Sabrina Shapiro highlighted Temple's best individual finish with a third place result. Freshman Melissa Parker finished as an event quarter-finalist.

Johns Hopkins placed second behind the Owls in the sabre team competition while Haverford finished third. Jones and freshman Lauren Baker each placed fifth and eighth, respectively.

Steven's Institute of Technology captured the epee event team crown while Haverford placed third.

The Cherry and White resume competition on Saturday, March 10 in Teaneck, NJ for the NCAA Regional Championships. Start time is to be announced.

"We are now looking forward to the NCAA Regional Championships next weekend which will determine the NCAA qualifiers," commented Franke.