W. Fencing routs Princeton, 20-12

Coming into last night's match, Princeton was challenging the Penn women's fencing team both as rivals and as viable Ivy League contenders. However, the Quakers, expecting a tough battle the entire way, reduced the Tigers to kittens as they cleaned up in both epee and foil. Penn (8-0, 3-0 Ivy League) continued to prove itself as a force in the Ivies. The Quakers are now in position to repeat as Ivy champions despite losing two All-Ivy seniors from last year. Both the epee and foil squads finished their bouts 10-6, combining to crush Princeton 20-12. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came from the epee fencers, who easily defeated the experienced Tigers and supplied plenty of emotion for the entire squad. "We were really, really pumped for the meet. We knew we were going to win," Liz Cornfield said. Although Cornfield was defeated 1-5 in her first bout, Anastasia Gunzburg quickly brought the team to life by winning the next epee bout 5-3. The foil fencers also supplied plenty of spark as co-captain Megumi Sakae went undefeated in her four bouts. Another source of talent came from freshman Cynthia Kwan. Nicknamed "Killer," she went 2-2 while living up to her alias. "She's an excellent fencer, but she lacks some consistency," junior Sarah Johns said. The Princeton women lacked depth. Two Tiger fencers from each category combined for three wins each, yet the remainder of the team couldn't put up the wins to emerge victorious. The Quakers' foil fencers also lacked something as they went about their normal business of winning. "I didn't have a very good day," explained Johns, "In terms of points I was fine, but something was definitely wrong." "Foil performed as well as I thought it would. I wasn't sure about epee, but they did really well," Penn coach Dave Micahnik. The emotional win should be credited to both epee and foil. "It was a communal effort on both sides," Johns said. According to Sakae, however, "Princeton didn't put up much of a fight. It was almost too easy." Sakae also complimented the team. "I'm really proud of the women. They put a lot of effort into it today," she said. The Quakers were also fueled by the attendance, as both the men's and women's squads drew enthusiastic crowds. "We were very pleased with the turnout," Johns said. "It helped to bolster our efforts." Despite their unprecedented success, the Quakers kept all starters in and did not use any of their alternates. With every starter in position to receive All-Ivy awards, every bout from here on out is crucial. Penn is also in position to repeat its Ivy championship as the Quakers face Harvard and Columbia in the next two weeks. Harvard figures to be their biggest challenge. The Crimson beat Princeton in a previous match.