PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's fencing team fell to five different opponents, including three in the top seven, on the second day of a Northeast Fencing Conference meet at host Brown University's Olney-Margolies Athletic Center in Providence, R.I.

The Lyons dropped to 0-16 on the season.

First year Norah Vaughan (Hope Hull, Ala.) compiled a 9-6 mark in the foil in five dual matches for Wheaton and finished the two-day meet with a 20-10 record. Classmate Valerie Oginsky (Montgomery, N.J.) won her first collegiate bout and finished 1-14 for the day in epee.

The Lyons were defeated by host Brown, 26-1. Vaughan cruised in her first foil bout of the day, blanking first year Neve O'Neil (Sydney, Australia), 5-0. The Wheaton rookie dropped her next two bouts to mark the first time this season that she hasn't won two or more bouts in a match. Sophomore Apoorva Talwalkar (Saratoga, Calif.) earned a 5-3 decision over Vaughan, before sophomore Jessie Chen came away with a 5-1 win. Oginsky was edged by first year Jessie Yan, 5-4, before suffering a pair of 5-2 losses to first year Isabella Pucci and Kira Nguyen (Great Neck, N.Y.). 

Wheaton fell to Denison University, who was ranked seventh in the most recent United States Fencing Coaches Association national poll, 25-2. Vaughan won two of her three bouts in foil. She opened the match with a 5-3 victory over sophomore Alaina Cabalu (Anaheim, Calif.) and closed by edging sophomore Lal Ertun (Istanbul, Turkey), 5-4. First year Elly Kennedy (Granville, Ohio) handed Vaughan her only loss in the meet by a count of 5-3. Oginsky was downed in epee by first year Claire Anderson (Englewood, Colo.) to begin her round in epee, before falling to both first year Chi Chi Agu (Altoona, Iowa) and first year Nicole Krumholz (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) by scores of 5-0.

The Lyons suffered a 24-3 setback to Vassar College. Vaughan won all three of her foil bouts and dropped just two points. She defeated sophomore Zoe North (Alexandria, Va.), 5-2, before posting 5-0 shutouts over first year Kelsey Wang (Winter Park, Fla.) and senior Nicole Ezell (Morristown, N.J.). Oginsky battled to a pair of 5-3 defeats in her first two epee bouts against sophomore Katrina Zeng (Princeton, N.J.) and senior Danielle Golden (Chestnut Hill, Mass.). Her final bout was a 5-2 loss to senior Naomi Hirsch (Melrose Park, Pa.).

Wheaton picked up points in both the foil and the epee, but ultimately fell to No. 3 Brandeis University, 24-3. Vaughan won two of three bouts in foil. She was defeated in her first bout, 5-1, by sophomore Ella Richards (Harvard, Mass.), before winning her final two bouts. Vaughan edged junior Hannah Du (Winchester, Mass.), 5-4, and blanked junior Rhea Menon (Princeton, N.J.), 5-0. Oginsky was nipped by sophomore Ryan Weinsier (Northampton, Mass.), 5-4, in her opening epee bout, before falling to senior Bronwyn Rothman-Hall (San Francisco, Calif.), 5-1. Oginsky picked up her first collegiate bout win with a 5-4 triumph over junior Olivia Bennett (Shrewsbury, Mass.).

The Lyons were defeated in their final match of the day, 26-1, to No. 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Vaughan won her opening bout in foil with a 5-3 effort over sophomore Jordan Goldson (Holdel, N.J.), but fell in her final two bouts. Vaughan was edged by sophomore Amber Peng (Irvine, Calif.) and was defeated by junior Angela Yuan (Mississauga, Ontario), 5-3. Oginsky dropped her opening epee bout to junior Zandra Feland (Los Gatos, Calif.), 5-2, and was downed by sophomore Michelle Sotelo (Westford, Mass.), 5-1. Oginsky battled in her final bout, but succumbed to sophomore Priscilla Leang (San Jose, Calif.), 5-4.

Wheaton returns to action on Sunday, December 1 when it travels to Staten Island, N.Y. to compete in the Seahawk Invitational at host Wagner College.