M. Fencing returns star-studded lineup

Fencers can use three different weapons, but this year's Penn men's fencing team will have far more than three weapons at its disposal. The Quakers, who finished sixth at last year's NCAA Tournament, will return all but two members of last year's team. The Red and Blue has added some freshmen in key slots and hopes to bring a championship to West Philadelphia by the end of the winter. Penn returns United States Senior National champion Cliff Bayer with the foil. Bayer won last weekend's Penn State Open, the Quakers' only meet against other collegiate fencers until almost a month into the new year. The junior is joined on the foil lineup by sophomores Yaron Roth and David Cohen. Roth, out of Tel Aviv, is an All-American, and Cohen, from Houston, is the United States under-19 champion. "In foil, we have as dominating a team as there is in college today," Penn coach Dave Michanik said. "We also have pretty much all of the reserves from last year as well, and a freshman named Blake Miller who is showing some promise." Two more freshmen, Jeffrey Lee and Daniel Vincent, have been impressive in early practices with the sabre. Vincent finished 11th at the Penn State Open. "They're both quite capable," Michanik said. "And both have a good shot to break into the starting lineup before the end of the season." Cracking that lineup will not be an easy task though, as Penn's sabre squad is anchored by All-American sophomore Michael Golia. The other members of last season's starting lineup, Jeff Allen and David Liu, have also returned for this winter's campaign. The Penn epees will also be in familiar hands this winter, as Charles Hammond, John Wright and Michael Leiseca have all returned. Hammond finished 17th at Penn State, falling just shy of the championship round. "To have only a few weeks of training, it's kind of hard to expect terribly much," Michanik said of the performance at Penn State. "We use it pretty much as a yardstick to see what we need to do for the rest of the fall training session. The idea is to get some action, and see where you stand." Because of NCAA regulations, the Quakers, who fence in individual United States Fencing Association events, could not fence at Penn State as representatives of the University. Many members of the Red and Blue will travel to Monroeville, PA next weekend for more action, but the first team meet is not until January 23 at the Penn State Multi-Meet. At the Multi-Meet, Penn will square off against a number of teams, including Stanford, Duke, Air Force and Haverford. The Quakers will not face the hosts, however, as the Nittany Lions will play against Penn at Cornell in February. The event at Cornell will pit the Quakers against their toughest opponents of the season -- the Big Red, Penn State and Columbia. "Anytime we beat Columbia it's huge," Michanik said. "And if we do, we can be in a position to win the Ivy League, and that's good." Penn visits the Elis January 30, and the Tigers will be the Quakers' lone guests of the season, February 7 at Weightman Hall. The only other men's fencing action at Penn this year will be the Alumni Meet on December 5. The Alumni Meet, described by Michanik as being "almost as social as it is competitive," is a series of bouts between current Quakers fencers and Red and Blue alumni. After that meet, the Quakers will see the level of competition rise significantly until the NCAA Championships in March at Brandeis.