Bayer wins foil event at Penn State Open

Freshman Cliff Bayer was the men's fencing team's top finisher. After a weekend of tough matches, the Penn men's fencing team is prepared to begin the season. The Penn State Open, the second of two preseason tournaments, that was held over the weekend, included some of the best fencers in the nation, and the Quakers showed that they belonged with the top. Taking first place overall in foil was freshman Cliff Bayer, who went into the tournament as the top seed. He is Penn's top freshman recruit, and was the No. 1 foil fencer in the nation through high school. "He was unstoppable, incredible," Penn freshman Garrick Bernstein said. "He was very motivational for the team." Bernstein also had a respectable showing. In the first round, he beat the No. 2 foil fencer from the Olympic team. But despite the first-round victory, Bernstein was bounced in the second round. "I was disappointed in the result, but I was happy with the upset," Bernstein said. Alex Edelman finished 27th overall in the epee, best on the team. "The epee team did not do as well as we should have," Penn sophomore epee Roland Backes said.