Fencing opens season

It finally counts. After two preseason opens and months of training and waiting, the regular season finally begins for the Penn men's and women's fencing teams tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at Weightman Hall. They will entertain rivals from St. John's, New York University and Haverford. Besides being the first step in a potential road to another trip to the regional and NCAA tournaments, this weekend will also provide an opportunity for coach Dave Micahnik to begin to form a clear perception of this season's squads. "I have yet to get a feel for how good they will fare against everybody else this year," he said. This first test will go a long way in solving that problem. The Red Storm, which topped Penn last year, is as intimidating as always -- boasting freshman epee sensation Julian Hentia, who won a preseason championship, and one of the nation's best in foil, Brian Moroney. The women's squad is led by All-American Regina Moroney. Perennially strong, St. John's will provide a formidable early season challenge for the Quakers. NYU, which has recently competed with Penn very closely, is again strong. Last year, its men's foil squad placed in the NCAA final four. The women are led by Kat Ogden, who last year won the Northeast Regional Championship in women's epee. For Penn to begin the year positively against these opponents, the women will need an impressive performance from the epee squad. This year is the first that women's results in epee will be officially counted, but the Quakers feel they have prepared well for this change with young talented corps. Although the women were hurt by the loss of several top players to graduation, they believe they can quickly rebound. "I think we can surprise people," co-captain and all-Ivy selection Megumi Sakae said. "Our talent will make up for our inexperience." Men's epee and foil squads look to be solid with Regional epee champion Alex Edelman and captain Edward Skyler providing strength. "It's never going to be easy," Skyler said, "but I see no reason why we should not win this meet."