M. Fencing sweeps at home

The Quakers defeated Rutgers, Duke, Haverford and John Hopkins. The Penn men's fencing team showed no mercy in Hutchinson Gymnasium on Saturday. The Quakers got their season off to an auspicious start, sweeping visiting Rutgers, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Haverford. "We were awesome," said Penn freshman Yale Cohen of the Quakers' victories in each of their three dual-meet showdowns on Saturday. "We annihilated our opponents." The Quakers' day started slowly, but ended with a bang. The Red and Blue's first opponent, Rutgers, was arguably its toughest. After several back-and-forth bouts, the Scarlet Knights and Quakers were tied at 13. The meet came down to a bout between Penn foilist David Cohen and longtime rival Matthew Catino. Cohen's stirring 5-3 victory won the meet for the Quakers. "I liked being in the spotlight," Cohen said. "I like it when the final bout comes down to me, because it determines what you're made of." Yale Cohen, who is David's younger brother, also contributed to Penn's victory over Rutgers, beating all three of his opponents. The Quakers then got revenge on Duke. The Blue Devils had beaten the Red and Blue for the first time ever last year, and the Penn fencers relished their bit of vengeance on Saturday. "We pounded [Duke] this year," said Penn junior sabre Mike Golia of his team's 21-6 victory. Golia won all of his bouts against Duke and went on to record an impressive 7-0 finish for the day. Penn epeeists Scott Eriksen, Charles Hamann and Javier Garcia-Albea were also undefeated against the Blue Devils. Golia believes that the week-long training camp held for the Quakers during winter break played a role in their success. "Training camp really came through," Golia said. "It was the first meet, so everyone was nervous. But once we settled down, we started getting into the groove." The Quakers handled Haverford and Johns Hopkins with ease, beating both teams 24-3. Penn epeeists Jim Benson and Eric Epstein both recorded wins against the Blue Hens, and sophomore sabre Daniel Vincent went undefeated against both Johns Hopkins and Haverford. Several Penn freshmen saw their first collegiate action in the latter two meets. Freshman epeeist Daniel Borden won all of his bouts against Haverford and Hopkins, and Daniel Marcus and Will Burhop, a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer, both won two bouts against Haverford. In addition to his victories over Duke, Garcia-Albea also won a bout against Johns Hopkins. "We have a bunch of good freshmen," Hamman said of his teammates. "They don't look like freshmen. They're very experienced, and they have a lot of enthusiasm." While Penn coach Dave Micahnik was pleased with Saturday's results, he emphasized that this meet is one of many over the course of a long season. The Quakers, who are the defending Ivy champions, will begin battling for this year's crown on Saturday when they host Yale at home. This weekend's meet was a good tune-up for the Quakers. "Rutgers had some strong people on their team," Hamann said. "It shouldn't have been as close as it was, but we won, which is the important thing. I'm confident for next weekend against Yale." With results like Saturday's, the Quakers have reason to be confident. "I'm happy to see the development of some of the fencers, and I'm happy with the wins," Micahnik said. "But until it's perfect, it's not OK. We need to get better and better because the season gets tougher and tougher."