Past champions will prepare W. Fencing

What would be the best possible way for the Penn women's fencing team to prepare for a tough season-opening meet? How about bringing back part of their 1986 NCAA championship team for a little friendly competition? The Penn fencing program will hold its Alumni Meet at 1 p.m. at Weightman Gymnasium on Saturday. This event brings together at least five former fencers for a reception, followed by a "friendly" competition between the alumni and the current Quakers squad. The Alumni Meet has been held annually since 1993, and this year will once again return several famous alumni. Of special note, three-time first-team all-American and two-time Olympian Mary Jane O'Neill will make a showing. Now a radiologist, O'Neill won an individual NCAA championship as a sophomore in 1984 before leading the Quakers to their only team national title two years later. At least one other member of that 1986 championship team will be back for this meet. Three-time first-team all-Ivy selection Jane Hall-Carter, who won first-team all-American honors as a freshman, will also be back. Another member of that undefeated team, former captain Tamara Moss, may also attend. "That team was one of the best ever," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "They had excellent chemistry. It will be great to have O'Neill and Hall back fencing." Another former fencer returning for this reception is Margo Szabunia, the first woman all-American that Micahnik produced at Penn. Martha Stachitas, the first captain of women's fencing -- which was a club sport for one year before attaining varsity status -- will also attend the reunion. A disappointment for Penn is that last year's captain, Elisabeth Cornfield, has an academic commitment and is unable to return. Her mother, a University employee who also competed with the program before the sport attained full varsity status, is competing. Even though many of Micahnik's early women's teams, including the 1986 championship squad, used only the foil in their college meets, the alumni matches on Saturday will feature competition with both the foil and the epee. This won't be difficult for the alumni, though, because many fencers competed outside of college in the epee, while fencing solely in the foil for Penn. Moss, while finishing fourth in the 1986 NCAAs in the foil, was also nationally ranked in epee competition. The Alumni Meet is not only a reunion for several former Quakers fencers, but also provides ample opportunity for the 1997 team to prepare for their season-opening match the following day. All 13 members on the current Quakers women's fencing squad will suit up for, and compete in, this event. "They will grow to understand the enjoyment and the importance of this event," Micahnik said. This is the first time that Penn's season-opening meet takes place the day after the Alumni Meet. The tough alumni competition comes in handy for a young women's team, as they fence Princeton, North Carolina and Rutgers -- three of the tougher eastern teams this season -- on Sunday at Princeton. Several of this year's team members have aspirations to follow in the footsteps of former Penn fencers who have competed internationally. Freshman Kari Coley, an epee specialist, will travel to Budapest for the second time in early January to compete in the Junior World Cup. She placed 23rd last year, and will try to improve upon that finish this year. The knowledge and experience the former fencers bring to the Alumni Meet is a welcome help to the Quakers as they prepare for the start of the 1997 season.

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