Fencing goes back to N.E. before hosting Princeton

After last weekend's grueling yet successful multi-meets at Yale and MIT, the Penn fencing team is heading back to New England this weekend to compete at Harvard tomorrow before returning home to face Princeton on Sunday. Penn coach Dave Micahnik attributes last weekend's victories to the fencers' momentum and confidence. The men and women both soundly defeated competitive schools such as Brown, Brandeis and Boston College. Especially notable was the men's 18-9 win over Yale. "Yale was an event in itself," Micahnik said."[Beating them] gives people the confidence that they can fence against good teams." The men's defeat of Yale also inspires hope for a possible Ivy title. "We have a better chance now," sophomore foil Yaron Roth said. "The only obstacle is ourselves. We have to be on guard." Micahnik emphasized that although an Ivy title would be nice, the fencers are still concentrating on individual matches. "It's all about beating your opponent -- if you come out better than everyone else, you win," Michanik said. "But don't count your chickens before you have eggs." Michanik also noted the team's hectic schedule. "This has to be the screwiest piece of scheduling in history, going back to New England for one match [after having been there last week]," Michanik said. "It's pretty crazy. If we were getting frequent bus miles we'd be rich," he joked. With last weekend's victories fresh in their minds, the Quakers are full of confidence. "We have a good chance with Harvard," freshman epee Mindy Nguyen said. Harvard will be an interesting match considering the Penn women will face Emily Katz, sister of Penn foiler Margo Katz. The team is less sure of Sunday's match against Princeton, whose fencing team is known to be especially strong. "Princeton is important, and so far they're undefeated in the Ivies," junior foil Cliff Bayer said. "But I like our chances because we're fencing them at home and there was a really good showing last week." This weekend is especially big for Bayer, as the All-American foilist was just cleared to fence for the Quakers again after dealing with three months of "administrative difficulties." He believes that team spirit plays an integral role in winning matches. "Princeton is not that good but they can pump themselves up. If we pump ourselves up too, we can beat them," Bayer said. "It will take a lot of motivation. Michanik believes that last weekend's victories gave the team confidence for future matches. "Now they know they can win anything," Michanik said. "And if you believe you're going to win, chances are you will."