W. Fencing sends 8 to UNC

If the Penn women's fencing team has its way this weekend, eight members will eventually make the hike to Indiana to compete in this year's NCAA national championships. To qualify at Regionals at the University of North Carolina, however, will be a virtually impossible feat. Regionals is composed of an individual competition tomorrow followed by a team competition Sunday. Even though this is the last team competition of the season, Penn coach Dave Micahnik, as well as almost every fencer, is concentrating on individual achievement. The individual tournament is where the emphasis will be. Eight Penn fencers from both foil and epee will compete for a total of 19 NCAA spots, trying to outlast a field of as many as 64 contenders. "No new material is being taught because it's too late to be able to use them effectively," Micahnik said. "We're simply trying to sharpen the skills we already have." During practice yesterday, fencers frequently asked questions about the format of the coming event. In one change from last year's tournament, Penn will send an epee team for the first time. Last year, sophomore Liz Cornfield was the only member to compete at Regionals, finishing 12th overall. Another advantage for the Quakers is they have already fenced against most of the teams that will appear at the tournament. The experience Penn has with these teams will determine the individual fates of the eight fencers. In order to qualify for NCAAs, they must look back and see what worked and what didn't against these opponents. Another tough roadblock for Penn will be the stamina factor. After being used to having four bouts per match, fencers will have to fight as many as 25 five-touch bouts in one day, providing they sweep through each round. The individual tournament consists of as many as 32 fencers in each weapon competing in six-woman round robin tournaments. The top 24 will then move on, and again have another six-woman round robin, until the final 16 are reached. The survivors then have a massive 15-bout round robin to determine the champion and the NCAA qualifiers. The factors that determine NCAA eligibility do not only fall on this tournament, however. Regular season results, dual meet win-loss record, and schedule strength determine who makes the national competition. Freshman Anastasia Gunzburg, Penn's most successful epee fencer, has faltered to some extent in the past two weeks, but she is determined to make the NCAAs. "I have to be in the right frame of mind," Gunzburg said. "I know I can fence really well, and I know I can fence really bad. Overconfidence is my biggest problem." Co-captains Sarah Johns and Megumi Sakae also have high hopes. Many of the fencers consider Sakae already in the NCAAs, and for Johns to qualify, she'll have to perform extremely well at the Regionals. Johns is pumped and ready to go after battling a nasty cold at last week's IFAs. "If I'm on, I think I'll have a good chance of making the NCAAs," Johns said. "I can't lose any bouts that I shouldn't, however." This year's Regionals is also a special tournament for senior Christina Kim, as she tries to her extend her final fencing season into the NCAAs. Whatever the results of the individual tournament are, all but two of the fencers realize there is always next season.