M. Fencers see season in shell

You want to see the Penn men's fencing team's 1993-94 season in a nutshell? Take a look at this past weekend. In the Intercollegiate Fencing Association Tournament at MIT, the Quakers came up with strong individual performances while collectively underachieving. Freshman Alex Edelman, who has had a fantastic rookie season on the circuit, won the individual epee competition. Sophomore George Kalmar finished third in sabre. Sophomore Nathan Anderson finished seventh in foil, and defeated the eventual champion along the way. In team competition, however, Penn finished a disappointing sixth overall. "Basically, the team events were mediocre," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "We finished in the middle of the pack because we didn't fence too well." Micahnik still heaped praise on his successful individual fencers. "Individually, we were great," Micahnik said. "Some of our guys were fantastic." Edelman, for example, never expected to win such a tournament. "I was in a state of shock for about a half-hour," he said. "I was pretty nervous, but it was a great way to cap off the season. I'm proud." Despite the personal accomplishments, Penn must be concerned as it heads into the Regionals this weekend, where an NCAA Tournament berth hangs in the balance. "It's for all the marbles now," Micahnik said. "We have to sharpen up during the week. They just have to get hungry to hit." The fencers were quick to put this weekend's performance into perspective. "Basically it was just another tournament," senior captain Evan Glanz said. "This weekend coming up is what really counts. We've got to forget about not placing at the IFAs and concentrate on the Regionals." Glanz leads the sabre team, which has been Penn's strong point all season. "We've been fencing hard," Glanz said. "We're a good team that should perform in the NCAAs, if we can make it there, which we should." As for the foil and epee teams, it all depends upon this weekend's performance. "Epee and foil have not been brilliant," Micahnik said. "But they've been building all season long. It looks like it's starting to come together at the right time. But if we continue to fence the way we did at the IFAs we're not going anywhere." It remains for the Quakers to prove if they can walk the walk. At the IFAs, they certainly did not. If they cannot do it at Penn State for the Regionals, they can head home and forget about the NCAA tournament. That's the season?in a nutshell.