W. Fencing gains experience on trip

After a marathon weekend in New England -- during which the Penn women's fencing team faced six teams in two days -- the Quakers returned to Philadelphia with a better perspective of where they stand, and where they would like to be. The Red and Blue faced off against a strong Yale team Saturday in their first match of the weekend, and came within one point of defeating the host Elis. Penn's epee squad -- including All-American Kari Coley, who fenced for the first time this season after a semester abroad -- turned in a solid showing, compiling an 8-1 score. The Yale sabre and foil squads proved to be too tough for the Quakers, however, as the Elis squeaked past the Red and Blue with a 14-13 win. "Everyone worked really hard and pulled together," Penn sophomore foilist Lauren Staudinger said. "You're never happy to lose, but we were happy that we worked together as a team." After their battle in New Haven, Conn., the Quakers traveled to Cambridge, Mass., on Sunday to take on the next onslaught of opponents at the MIT multi-meet. Penn's five opponents included a much-improved Harvard team that topped the Quakers in all three weapons, propelling the Crimson to a 20-7 victory. "Harvard turned out to be our toughest opponent this weekend," said Penn sophomore epeeist Kim Linton, who went 1-2 against the Crimson. "Our heads weren't really in it, and we hit a low and couldn't pull ourselves out." Harvard's success may be attributed to a new coaching staff as well as new fencers. "We very badly underestimated Harvard," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "Their tremendously improved coaching speeds up the development of who they have." After falling to two of their Ivy League foes, the Red and Blue rebounded to finish the weekend with convincing wins over Tufts (22-5), Brown (18-9), Boston College (19-8), and Brandeis (23-4). In fact, with the exception of their sabre's 4-5 record against Brown, the Quakers won every weapon against each of these four teams. While Micahnik is pleased with his team's weekend performance, he is disappointed that the losses to Harvard and Yale "really put us in the situation where there is no shot of winning the Ivy League title." Regardless, the Quakers, who now sport a 8-4 record, believed that the weekend in New England showed that they can compete with teams like Yale. "The meets this weekend have given us more competitive experience," said Linton. "We're fencing at least five more really hard schools this season, so it's good to have a pool of experience to draw from."

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