Low turnout does not stop W. Fencing

The Penn women's fencing team squared off against some of their old friends on Saturday in the annual Penn Alumnae Meet. Although the alumnae turnout was small, nothing could spoil the event. "This year's meet was a little underpopulated," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "But the event served its purpose and went very well." Those alumnae who came back to fence the current Quakers were Margo Szabunia, an All-American honorable mention in 1977, and Judy Weitzman, an All-Ivy first-team selection in 1990. Also returning were Olivia Leon, captain of the 1997-98 squad, and Meredith Galto, last year's captain. The two were unable to compete in the meet. Because of the small turnout, some of the current Penn fencers dueled on the alumnae side and there were also some inter-gender bouts. There was no overall score to the competition, but all of the bouts were very close. "All of the matches came down to a tie, or a margin of one," Micahnik said. "It was almost a perfect split." But the final results meant very little. It was simply a day for some old fencers to forget their work, spouses, children and the rest of their daily activities, and to return -- at least for a little while -- to their days competing for the Red and Blue. "The most important thing is to keep coming back," Micahnik said. "The memories of a fencing career may stick with you more than anything else." And according to sophomore epeeist Mindy Nguyen, the day was a complete success. "It was great to see the alumnae and it was a good way to prepare for the season," she said. "I can't wait until I'm an alumna and I get to come back." The current Penn fencers, especially the freshmen and the new sabre fencers, also gained some experience from the meet. "Experience is the only way they are going to improve," Micahnik said, commenting on his sabre squad. "Lessons and drill are in a vacuum -- bouts are where you can really see what you are doing." The sabres, along with many of the other fencers, had to face some male fencers and some outstanding alumnae. While many of them had difficulties in these bouts, the stiff competition should only make them better once the regular season rolls around. "It's good to fence boys because they fence a lot more aggressively," freshman sabre Christina Verigan said. "It makes fencing in other bouts a lot easier." The freshmen were also able to gain some invaluable experience from the exhibition meet. "It was a real breaking-in process for the freshmen," Micahnik said. "They haven't seen the college meet process yet, so a dress rehearsal is a good thing for them." The freshmen, in fact, all performed very well. Epeeist Kim Linton and foilists Lauren Staudinger and Stacey Wertlieb all picked up some wins against the alumnae. "They're mainstays of the team and we expect them to contribute right away," Micahnik said. This being the last exhibition meet before the regular season, the Quakers believe they are close to being ready for action. "I'm looking forward to the season," Verigan said. "I think by the time the season starts, we'll all be ready." "We're not ready for Broadway yet, but we're ready to take it on the road," Micahnik added. That road begins on January 22, when the Quakers take on Haverford, Rutgers and Duke at the Penn Multi-Meet.