M. Fencing wins 2, loses 2 against tough competition

If anyone wondered if the Penn men's fencing team could continue its winning ways against such big-time schools as Duke and Ohio State, the question can be considered answered. On Sunday, the men's fencing team went toe to toe with some of the best team's in the country at the Penn State Invitational and came away with a very strong showing, defeating the Blue Devils, 20-7, and the Buckeyes, 16-11. The Quakers also fell in two very closely contested matchups against St. John's and Stanford, each by a 15-12 margin, to drop their overall record to 4-2. Penn was led by sophomore foilist Yale Cohen and senior epeeist Charles Hamann. Each compiled 10-2 records on the afternoon. Cohen was undefeated against Duke, Ohio State and St. John's, but lost two bouts to the Cardinal's strong foil squad. These losses to Stanford were the first he has suffered all year. "[The meet] is a good start for us against some strong teams and should get us ready for the Ivy League schedule," Cohen said. Freshman Jeff Breen and senior Yaron Roth rounded out Penn's stellar foil squad. They both contributed 9-3 performances on the day, leaving the foilists with a remarkable 29-7 record in the tourney. Like Cohen, Roth had his way with three of the four teams at the tourney but was stymied by Stanford's potent attack. He lost all three of his bouts to the Cardinal. The weekend tournament was a good follow-up to an impressive 2-0 start. On January 20, Penn defeated Haverford in a lopsided 26-1 contest that featured sweeps in both foil and sabre and fought its way to a 15-12 win against Rutgers. The Quakers' sabres, however, have been struggling a bit early in the season; they fell to Rutgers, 7-2. "We as a team need to get our acts together [on sabre] a bit, then we will be very solid," Roth said. The Quakers' sabres, however, have been struggling a bit early in the season; they fell to Rutgers, 7-2. "We as a team need to get our acts together [on sabre] a bit, then we will be very solid," Roth said. The Quakers begin their Ivy League schedule next Saturday against Yale. This Elis, along with Princeton, figure to be Penn's toughest competitor for the Ancient Eight crown. The match will be difficult, however, as the Quakers will travel to New Haven, Conn., shorthanded. Cohen -- the under-20 North American gold medal winner -- will be participating in a tournament in Italy next weekend and will miss the Red and Blue's first Ivy League contest. "This is an important match for us. They were all good teams [that we have faced to this point] but they are all just a warmup for teams like Yale and Princeton," Roth said.

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