National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association
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- NIWFA redirects here. For the Northern Ireland Women's Football Association, see Irish Football Association, of which it is a subdivision.
The National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association is an intercollegiate athletic conference for women's fencing tournaments between teams, where each team is composed of students from a college that is located in the United States of America.
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[edit] Organization
Three women collegiate fencers, Julia Jones and Dorothy Hafner of New York University and Elizabeth Ross of Cornell University, founded the NIWFA in 1929. The inspiration and model for the new athletic association for women was the men's Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) founded a third of a century before. The purpose of the organization was to develop women's intercollegiate fencing and to sponsor an annual championship.
New York University won the first team championship. Mrs. Mildred Stuyvesant Fish of New York, donated the perpetual trophy for the team championship. Julia Jones, an N.Y.U. student won the first individual championship. Until her death in 1995, Ms. Jones was the guiding light of the association she helped to establish.
The Christmas Invitational is an individual event for collegiate women hosted by the NIWFA on the first Sunday in December. Each member college/university may enter a maximum of six foil, six epee and six saber fencers in the annual event. This developmental event for novice fencers sanctions the participation of United States Fencing Association (USFA) Class "C" fencers or below. (Fencers need not be members of the USFA.)
The competition in each weapon is conducted in a round robin format to a final of six fencers. Fencers eliminated in the first round compete in a consolation round. Each entrant is thereby provided with at least two rounds of fencing competition. The six finalists are awarded Julia Jones Medals. The Evelyn Terhune Trophy is presented to the winner of the foil event. The first place epeeist is awarded the Betty Santelli Trophy and the saber champion, the NIWFA Trophy.
The NIWFA Team and Individual Championships are held on the last Saturday in February or the first Saturday in March. Foil, epee and saber teams compete in separate round robin formatted championships. A match between each three-member team consists of three bouts. The total number of bouts won determines the team championship.
The Mildred Stuyvesant Fish Trophy is presented to the Champion Foil Team; the Raymond Miller Trophy to the Champion Epee Team and the Giorgio Santelli Trophy to the Champion Saber Team. The Combined Weapons Team Champion is awarded the Olympians Trophy. The second place team is presented with the West Point Trophy.Each member of the first four teams is awarded a Julia Jones Medal.
Sixteen fencers in each weapon qualify from the team events for participation in the Direct Elimination Individual Championships. The eight finalists in each weapon are awarded Julia Jones Medals. The Foil Champion is awarded the Julia Jones Trophy; the Epee Champion, the Salle Santelli Women's Epee Team Trophy and the Saber Champion, the Saber Trophy.
Any college or university granting a degree at the Bachelor's level is invited to become a member of the association. Members of fencing teams must be matriculated, undergraduate, full-time students in good standing. Student athletes must be amateur fencers. Following the guidelines of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), fencers are eligible to compete in the NIWFA for a total of four years.
The NIWFA remains true to the vision of its founders by continuing to provide competitive fencing opportunities for collegiate women and develop their skills in competition. Many NIWFA alumnae continue to be actively involved in fencing.
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- 19 NIWFA alumnae have participated on one or more Olympic Teams
- 17 NIWFA alumnae have participated on one or more Pan American Teams
- 15 NIWFA alumnae have won one or more AFLA and USFA National Championships
How strong is NIWFA competition? Fencing is not a sport which can be measured in absolute terms of how far, how fast or how much. Most NIWFA fencers learn to fence while they are in college, although some started in secondary school or in a club. There is considerable range in skill level among NIWFA fencers. (The competitive field, however, is approximately that of USFA Class "C" fencers or below.)
[edit] Julia Jones
In the fall of 1928, a New York University freshman walked onto the basketball court to try out for the men's basketball team. Julia Jones was told to leave as the team was not coed. Determined to participate in intercollegiate athletics, Julia and classmate, Dorothy Hafner who were joined by Elizabeth Ross of Cornell University, founded the Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association.
Later, that spring, the first championship, modeled after the men's IFA's, was held at Cornell University. Julia was the winner of the first Women's Intercollegiate Individual Fencing Championship, as well as a member of the winning New York University Team.
Julia coached the New York University team to three IWFA Championships, 1932, 1933 and 1938. After raising her family, Julia returned to coaching at Hunter College. Julia was named NIWFA Coach of the Year in 1970 when her Hunter College Team won the Championship. Julia Jones is one of three coaches to win the NIWFA Championship at two different colleges. Julia was selected as one of the coaches of the World University Games Team in 1970.
Julia Jones guided the NIWFA from 1929 until her death in 1993 at the age of 84, one week after coaching Hunter College in the 65th Annual Championship hosted by Vassar College. The NIWFA had outlasted the AIAW and the NCAA with seventy four continuous Championships, celebrating its seventy fifth on March 1, 2003 at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
[edit] NIWFA Team Champions
The NIWFA grew from an initial membership of four teams, Bryn Mawr College, Cornell University, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania to a membership of thirty two teams and, in the decade prior to 2005, twenty teams. In 1964, the I.W.F.A. experienced a name change as the numerical and geographic growth of the membership called for a National Championship.
[edit] Foil
Mildred Stuyvesant-Fish Trophy
- 1929 New York University
- 1930 New York University
- 1931 New York University
- 1932 New York University
- 1933 New York University
- 1934 Brooklyn College
- 1935 Hunter College
- 1936 Hunter College
- 1937 Hunter College
- 1938 New York University
- 1939 Hofstra University
- 1940 Hunter College
- 1941 Brooklyn College
- 1942 Jersey City State College
- 1943 Jersey City State College
- 1944 Hunter College
- 1945 Brooklyn College
- 1946 Hunter College
- 1947 Hunter College
- 1948 Hunter College
- 1949 New York University
- 1950 New York University
- 1951 New York University
- 1952 Hunter College
- 1953 Hunter College
- 1954 Elmira College
- 1955 Rochester Institute of Technology
- 1956 Paterson State College
- 1957 Rochester Institute of Technology
- 1958 Paterson State College
- 1959 Paterson State College
- 1960 Fairleigh Dickinson University
- 1961 Paterson State College
- 1962 Paterson State College
- 1963 Fairleigh Dickinson University
- 1964 Paterson State College
- 1965 Paterson State College
- 1966 Paterson State College
- 1967 Cornell University
- 1968 Cornell University
- 1969 Cornell University
- 1970 Hunter College
- 1971 New York University
- 1972 Cornell University
- 1973 Cornell University
- 1974 California State-Fullerton
- 1975 San Jose State University
- 1976 San Jose State University
- 1977 San Jose State University
- 1978 San Jose State University
- 1979 San Jose State University
- 1980 Pennsylvania State University
- 1981 St. John's University
- 1982 Yale University
- 1983 Yale University
- 1984 St. John's University
- 1985 St. John's University
- 1986 Temple University
- 1987 Temple University
- 1988 Temple University
- 1989 Temple University
- 1990 Paterson State College
- 1991 Temple University
- 1992 Cornell University
- 1993 Cornell University
- 1994 Princeton University
- 1995 Princeton University
- 1996 Rutgers University
- 1997 Temple University
- 1998 Fairleigh Dickinson University
- 1999 Temple University
- 2000 Temple University
- 2001 Temple University
- 2002 Temple University
- 2003 Temple University
- 2004 Temple University
- 2005 Temple University
[edit] Epee
Raymond Miller Trophy
- 1995 Princeton University
- 1996 James Madison University
- 1997 Johns Hopkins University
- 1998 Temple University
- 1999 Temple University
- 2000 Temple University
- 2001 Temple University
- 2002 Temple University
- 2003 Temple University
- 2004 Temple University
- 2005 Fairleigh Dickinson University
[edit] Sabre
Giorgio Santelli Trophy
- 2000 Tufts University
- 2001 Temple University
- 2002 Temple University
- 2003 Tufts University
- 2004 United States Military Academy
- 2005 Drew University
[edit] Combined 3-Weapon
Olympians Trophy
- 1996 Temple University
- 1997 Temple University
- 1998 Temple University
- 1999 Temple University
- 2000 Temple University
- 2001 Temple University
- 2002 Temple University
- 2003 Temple University
- 2004 Temple University
- 2005 Temple University
[edit] Division III
West Point Trophy
- 2001 United States Military Academy
- 2002 Johns Hopkins University
[edit] NIWFA Individual Champions
[edit] Foil
1929 Julia Jones New York University 1930 Elizabeth Ross Cornell University 1931 Elizabeth Ross Cornell University 1932 Dorothy Hafner New York University 1933 Frances Siegal New York University 1935 Madeline Dalton Hunter College 1936 Mildred Stewart Hunter College 1937 Mildred Stewart Hunter College 1938 Maria Cerra Hunter College 1939 Helena Mroczkowski Hofstra University 1940 Maria Cerra Hunter College 1941 Grace Acel William & Mary 1942 Grace Acel Cornell University 1943 Grace Acel Cornell University 1944 Grace Uthoff Hunter College 1945 Julia Kassell Brooklyn College 1946 Barbara Weiss New York University 1947 Estelle Osher Hunter College 1948 Diane Greenberg New York University 1949 Diane Greenberg New York University 1950 Sally Zacharewitz New York University 1951 Rosemary Nasce New York University 1952 Anne Drungis Hunter College 1953 Cathy Kopp Montclair State College 1954 Sandra Whithead Elmira College 1955 Joanne Monteverde Fairleigh Dickinson University 1956 Jane Dardia Paterson State College 1957 June Johnson Rochester Institute of Technology 1958 Dolores Comerio Jersey City State College 1959 Francesca Sidoti Jersey City State College 1960 Madeline Miyamoto Fairleigh Dickinson University 1961 Paulette Singelakis Paterson State College 1962 Paulette Singelakis Paterson State College 1963 Madeline Miyamoto Fairleigh Dickinson University 1964 Arleen Melnick Paterson State College 1965 Arleen Melnick Paterson State College 1966 Carol Abby New York University 1967 Patricia Preziosi Fairleigh Dickinson University 1968 Karen Denton Cornell University 1969 Sally Pechinsky New York University 1970 Sally Pechinsky New York University 1971 Ruth White New York University 1972 Ruth White New York University 1973 Susan McCourt California-State Fullerton 1974 Peggy Walbridge Cornell University 1975 Vincent Hurley San Jose State University 1976 Stacey Johnson San Jose State University 1977 Vincent Hurley San Jose State University 1978 Stacey Johnson San Jose State University 1979 Joy Ellingston San Jose State University 1980 Gina Farkashazy Wayne State University 1981 Sharon Sobers St. John's University 1982 Andrea Metkus Yale University 1983 Sharon Monplaisir Hunter College 1984 Anne Marie McGrath Paterson State College 1985 Sharon Monplasir Hunter College 1986 Celeste Murphy Temple University 1987 Cathy Humphrey Temple University 1988 Zoila Palacio Brooklyn College 1989 Sarah Eisenberg New York University 1990 Marie Petit-Michele Temple University 1991 Rachel Carson Temple University 1992 Tracey Thorne New York University 1993 Christi Como Temple University 1994 Kim Carlton Cornell University 1995 Melissa DaSilva Rutgers University 1996 Debbie Curry Temple University 1997 Marissa Barnes-Hopkins Temple University 1998 Marissa Barnes-Hopkins Temple University 1999 Sheelagh Johnson University of Virginia 2000 Sheelagh Johnson Tufts University 2001 Gina DeIseo Temple University 2002 Stephanie Izzolino Temple University 2003 Jeanne Browne Temple University 2004 Jeanne Browne Temple University 2005 Emily Hannenberg United States Military Academy
[edit] Epee
1996 Jenna Morgan James Madison University 1997 Jennifer Rolling Johns Hopkins University 1998 Gina DeIeso Temple University 1999 Kim Yasutis University of Virginia 2000 Julia Korony Temple University 2001 Julia Korony Temple University 2002 Julia Korony Temple University 2003 Sara Forsythe Temple University 2004 Stephanie Sargent Temple University 2005 Brena Rabel Drew University
[edit] Sabre
2000 Sara Walsh Johns Hopkins University 2001 Sara Walsh Johns Hopkins University 2002 Sakinah Shaahid Temple University 2003 Kasara Williams Tufts University 2004 Aziza Hasasan Temple University 2005 Nnennaya Okoro Temple University
[edit] NIWFA Member Colleges (2005)
- City College of New York
- Cornell University
- Drew University
- Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Haverford College
- Hunter College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Marist College
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Queens College
- Smith College
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Temple University
- Tufts University
- United States Military Academy
- University of Maryland, College Park FC
- University of Virginia FC
- University of Florida
- Virginia Tech
- Yeshiva University
[edit] External links
| National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association |
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| Army • City • Cornell • Drew • Fairleigh Dickinson • Florida • Haverford • Hunter CUNY • Johns Hopkins • Marist • Maryland College Park • New Jersey Institute of Technology • Queens CUNY • Smith • Stevens Institute of Technology • Temple • Tufts • Virginia • Virginia Tech • Yeshiva |
