W. Fencing can't slash through Jadwin Jungle

Princeton's fencers used their talent edge to deal Penn its second Ivy League loss. On Tuesday, Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium was the place where the Penn men's basketball team dominated the Tigers and took control of the Ivy League race. Last night, however, Jadwin and the Tigers were not nearly as hospitable to their guests. The Penn women's fencing team fell to Princeton, 17-10, at Old Nassau, falling to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in Ivy League play. But unlike in men's basketball -- where a good percentage of knowledgeable observers knew that the Quakers were the better team going in -- it was quite apparent before the meet that the Tigers fencers were superior to Penn. "They have a very strong team, and tonight they just proved that they were stronger than us," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. After last night's victory, Princeton remains undefeated in Ivy League competition. The Tigers upped their record to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the Ivies. The Orange and Black are obviously one of the strongest contenders to take home the Ancient Eight crown. Princeton -- a team that soundly defeated the Quakers 20-12 at home at Weightman Hall one year ago -- was led by sophomore epeeist Lindsay Campbell, who went undefeated for the Tigers. Many other Princeton fencers also won multiple bouts. The Quakers were defeated by the Orange and Black in all three weapons, losing close 5-4 decisions in both the foil and sabre and falling with the epee by a 7-2 margin. Sophomore Abby Lifter and freshman Christina Verigan won two bouts apiece to lead the sabre squad. Freshman foilist Lauren Staudinger also won two out of her three bouts for the Quakers, improving her overall record to an impressive 29-4, which means that she emerges victorious from a whopping 86.2 percent of her bouts. For the Penn epeeists, freshman Kim Linton and senior Sandra Yens each were able to come away with one win. Senior Margo Katz and freshman Stacey Wertlieb did the same for Penn's foil squad. None of the other Penn fencers, however, were able to overcome Princeton's powerful team as the Tigers came away with the seven-bout victory. "As a team, we were really together, and we went into the match mentally prepared," senior captain Heba Abdulla said. "But it wasn't enough -- they were too tough." With the defeat, Penn was virtually eliminated from a possible shot of taking the Ivy League crown. The Quakers will not, however, let the defeat get them down. They plan to remain optimistic as their season winds to a close. "We're disappointed, but we're not going to let this make us lose momentum," Abdulla said. "We still have important meets ahead of us, and the most important thing is not to lose momentum." After a weekend off, Penn will look to bounce back at the Temple Multi-Meet on Saturday, February 26. The Quakers then have IFAs at Yale before NCAA action starts in mid-March.