Temple barely edges W. Fencing in another last-bout thriller

It's becoming almost too easy to predict the end of a Penn women's fencing match. Almost every match seems to finish in down-to-the-wire, dramatic fashion. And at a multi-meet against Harvard, Johns Hopkins and host Temple on Saturday, the story was no different. It was deja-vu as the final match once again came down to the final touch in the final bout. And just like in Penn's first match of the season against Rutgers, freshman epeeist Kim Linton was on the strip fighting to preserve the victory for the Quakers. And once again, the star freshman came up just short, losing 5-4, as host Temple spoiled the Quakers' day, winning 14-13. Penn had previously been perfect on the afternoon, besting Harvard and Johns Hopkins. In stark contrast to the preceding meet, Penn's sabres carried the team and kept them in the match, winning seven of the nine bouts against the Owls. The foils were also able to come away with a win, defeating the host school, 5-4. However, Linton and the rest of the epee squad of senior Sandra Yens, sophomore Mindy Nguyen and freshman Julia Blank were overmatched and outplayed by the Owls, winning only one of their nine bouts. "If I thought this was indicative of the epee's level, I'd be very upset," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. Although the day ended with a disappointing loss, the beginning of the meet was filled with victories and outstanding performances. To begin the meet, the Quakers defeated Ivy League rival Harvard 15-12, a task they failed to accomplish last season. "We refused to let them beat us again," senior captain Heba Abdulla said. "We came in thinking that we were going to get every touch, and it showed in our performance." Abdulla backed up her mouth by winning all three of her bouts and leading the sabre squad to a 7-2 victory over the Crimson. Fellow sabre fencers sophomore Abby Lifter and freshman Christina Verigan each only lost one of their three bouts. Penn's epeeists were defeated by the Crimson 6-3, but the Quakers foil squad of senior Margo Katz and freshmen Lauren Staudinger and Stacey Wertlieb were able to squeak by with a 5-4 victory. The foil win might have been by a larger margin if not for the strong performance of Harvard sophomore Emily Katz, sister of Penn senior Margo Katz. Emily, who did not fence her sister, stifled the Quakers foilists, giving Staudinger and Wertlieb their only losses and winning all three of her bouts for the Crimson. However, the younger Katz was glad she did not have to go against her older sister. "I'm thrilled I didn't have to face Margo," the younger Katz said. "She beat me last year, and I lost the family bragging rights. I didn't want to suffer the family humiliation again." After their victory over Harvard, the Quakers went on to trounce Johns Hopkins, 17-10. While Penn's foilists led the way, winning eight of their nine bouts against the Blue Jays, the epeeists also picked it up for this match, winning 6-3 behind freshmen Linton and Blank, who combined to go 5-0. Overall, the team was satisfied with their performance, especially that of the foils and sabres, who went 18-9 and 17-10 respectively on the day. "There were a couple of bouts here and there that we should have won, but overall the foilists did very well," Katz said. But the big surprise came with the strong performance of Penn's sabre fencers, who were severely overmatched just a week ago. "Overall, the sabres did well -- especially in our two most important matches against Temple and Harvard," Abdulla said. "We really pulled together?. We had that fire." But despite these many strong performances for Penn, the final loss gave Micahnik a sour feeling. "I'm very disappointed with the Temple loss," Micahnik said. "It's always close, but I'm sick and tired of losing close. "I'm hard to please -- I want them all," he continued. "I'm concerned about the season because this was a meet we should have won and we're losing bouts that we should win." Micahnik then turned his attention to Penn's upcoming matchup against Ivy League powerhouse Princeton. The Quakers and Tigers will do battle on Wednesday at Old Nassau. "I expect that match to be very difficult," Micahnik said. "We could pull it out, but they are very strong." Penn's head man also noted that Princeton's strong suit is its epee squad -- the same weapon with which Penn has been struggling. Nevertheless, the Quakers remain optimistic and truly believe they can defeat the Tigers. "If everyone comes together and wins as many bouts as they can, we can come back and beat Princeton this year after we lost to them last season," Katz said.