The New York University women's fencing team started out strong, but could not maintain its early momentum at the Eric Sollee Invitational at Brandeis University on Saturday, Jan. 30.

The Violets went 3-4 in their dual matches and improving their season record to 7-14. NYU took on a competitive field consisting of Haverford College, Air Force Academy, Boston College, host Brandeis,  University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

NYU started the invite on a hot streak with three victories in its first three bouts, The Violets knocked off Haverford (20-7), Air Force (17-10) and Boston College (16-11).

Brandeis held home strip advantage over NYU by knocking off the Violets by a close 15-12 margin in the fourth round despite a 3-0 display from Lisa Verzino in sabre and a 2-1 outings by senior Zoe Evans (foil), junior Amanda Rysling (foil) and senior Eliza Friar (epee).

NYU then faced #8-ranked Pennsylvania and fell by a score of 20-7. In the final two bouts of the day, Brown edged the Violets 16-11 and MIT just got by NYU 14-13.

For the day, Rysling led the charge for NYU with an outstanding day in foil, going 18-3 overall with perfect 3-0 outings against Haverford, Air Force, Boston College, Brown, and MIT. Also finishing strong overall for the Violets were Verzino, who went 15-6 in sabre, and Friar, who was 8-11 in epee.

The Violets will be back in action on Sunday, Jan. 31, as they take on Tufts University in Medford, MA.

NYU Team Results:

Round 1: NYU 20, Haverford 7 (S, 7-2; F, 7-2; E, 6-3)
Round 2: NYU 17, Air Force 10 (S, 5-4; F, 9-0; E, 3-6)
Round 3: NYU 16, BC 11 (S, 4-5; F, 7-2; E, 5-4)
Round 4: Brandeis 15, NYU 12 (S, 5-4; F, 4-5; E, 6-3)
Round 5: Pennsylvania 20, NYU 7 (S, 6-3; F, 6-3; E, 8-1)
Round 6: Brown 16, NYU 11 (S, 7-2; F, 2-7; E, 7-2)
Round 7: MIT 14, NYU 13 (S, 4-5; E, 2-7; E, 8-1)