W. Fencing must settle for weekend split

The Penn women's fencing team arrived at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday hoping for a sweep of the Tigers and North Carolina. They had to settle for a split. Princeton freshman Caitlin Rich rallied the Tigers' attack by winning all four of her epee bouts, sparking a 17-15 Princeton victory. "Caitlin trains hard," Penn freshman Meredith Galto said. "And she is good at what she does." Sophomores Emmy Cho, Anastasia Gunzburg, and Olivia Leon, along with freshman Tammy Hancock slaughtered two Tigers each, as the balanced Quakers epee lineup broke even against Princeton, 8-8. Hancock, who suffered a knee injury two weeks ago against St. Johns, hit strongly, despite limited mobility on the strip. But the Tigers edged Penn in the epee event, 9-7, as Barrett Williams, the Tigers star freshman foil won three of four bouts. Penn senior captain Megumi Sakae was the only Penn foil to defeat Williams, en route to a perfect 4-0 record of her own in the Quakers' losing cause. The Red and Blue loss to Princeton was especially disappointing since the Tigers had fallen earlier in the season to Columbia, a squad the Quakers had defeated just two weeks ago. But Penn returned to the strip hours later and edged North Carolina, 17-15. The Red and Blue foil squad dominated the Tar Heels (12-4), as seniors Megumi Sakae (8-0 on the day) and Sarah Johns each concluded their regular season collegiate careers each with perfect 4-0 performances against UNC. Sakae and Johns have each had a lasting influence on the team. "Both are really helpful in practice," Galto said. "Megumi is an extremely strong fencer, and Sarah is strong too. They were always there to support us. It was their last match, and I guess they just really wanted to do well." Galto, and sophomore Cindy Kwan rounded out the foil squad's victories, defeating two Tar Heels a piece. For the second consecutive meet, junior Liz Cornfield substituted for the Quakers and ignited the epee squad, recording three of the team's five points. Sophomores Emmy Cho and Olivia Leon each had one win against North Carolina. The Quakers conclude the regular season with a 13-4 record (2-3 in the Ivies).