M. Fencing title hopes deflated

Princeton beat the Quakers, meaning that Penn must now win and get help to even have a sare of the Ivy crown. Last year, the Penn men's fencing team's 14-13 victory over Princeton continued the Quakers' Ivy League winning streak and brought them one step closer to winning the league title. Last night did not have such a happy ending for the Red and Blue as the Tigers overcame Penn 17-10. Heading to Old Nassau last night, the Quakers boasted an impressive 9-1 season record and an undefeated mark in the Ivy League. And while the Quakers knew that Princeton would be one of their toughest challenges of the season, Penn had momentum after squashing Harvard 24-3 last Saturday. But it was just not to be for the Quakers on this day. "We were mentally prepared and physically prepared," Penn captain David Liu said. "It just came down to that they were a better team today." Though the meet wound up as something of a rout, the result was not obvious from the start. "In the first round it was pretty even," Liu said. Penn foilists Yale and David Cohen each won their bouts in the first round, while Quakers sabres Mike Golia and Jeff Lee also brought two victories to their squad. Penn's epeeists didn't pull in any victories until round three. "The second round they took control," Liu said. "We were getting drained." To win the meet, the Quakers needed to win nearly all of their bouts in the final round. And even though Penn sabres Golia, Lee and Daniel Vincent gave the Quakers hope when they picked up three victories in round three, Liu admits that by this time Princeton "definitely had the match in their corner." While Penn's sabres posted a 6-3 record for the day, the Quakers' foilists finished 3-6, and Penn sophomore Jim Benson was the lone epeeist to win a bout for his squad. Even though last night's defeat might have lessened the Quakers' chances for their second consecutive Ivy title, Liu emphasizes that a trip to the victory circle is still within reach. "We're definitely down," he said. "But we're not out." While the Red and Blue remain contenders for the Ivy title, they are no longer in control of their destiny after last night's loss. For the Quakers to bring another Ivy title to Philadelphia, they will have to beat Columbia, and Yale would have to overcome Princeton. Even if this happens, the Ivy title will still be shared three ways between the Red and Blue, the Elis and the Tigers. Though the Quakers were victorious against Yale on January 29, the Elis were quite a challenge to beat. Liu believes that a Yale victory over Princeton is possible and noted that Yale's top foilist, Ayo Griffin, was absent at the Penn meet. Penn has also suffered from a loss of foilists. Senior Cliff Bayer took the year off to prepare for the Olympics, while junior Yaron Roth is recovering from a shoulder injury.