The Penn men's fencing team can finally breathe as its whirlwind of a weekend is over.
The Quakers woke up bright and early on Saturday to face off against Yale at Weightman Gym. In their first Ivy League competition of the year, the Red and Blue fell, 17-10.
"We didn't come in focused enough," Penn senior captain Jim Benson said. "Foil as a squad did well, but I think they dropped some that they could have had.
"I definitely know that epee definitely dropped some that we needed. Sabre dropped some that we needed."
The epee and sabre squads both lost, 6-3, and, 7-2, respectively. The foilists -- the team's most consistent unit -- eked out a 5-4 victory as sophomores Jeff Breen and Andy Radu posted 2-1 records, and junior Yale Cohen added the fifth win.
The highlight of the day was Breen's victory over Yale's Daniel Senft, a highly-touted fencer from Germany.
"I just had to move my feet," Breen commented. "There was luck involved, too.
"I always try to get my [loose style of fencing] to work in my benefit. I see it as if I stay as soft as possible, I'll have an advantage over any tense fencer."
After Saturday's exhausting meet, Super Bowl Sunday wasn't spent lounging around the apartment and eating chips either -- rather the Quakers travelled to Boston for the Brandeis Invitational.
Penn went 4-1 in the competition with wins over the host Judges, 23-4, MIT, 17-10, Brown, 20-7, and Boston College, 23-4. The sole loss came against NYU, 15-12.
"It says a lot about our team that we were able to come out the next day [after Yale] with a lot of intensity," Benson said. "With the exception of NYU, the others weren't even close."
The foilists continued the mastery of their opponents, finishing the day a staggering 43-2 in individual bouts.
The inexperienced sabres, thus far the weak link on the team, also progressed, going 3-2 as a team.
"The sabres are starting to get it together a little bit," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "The problem they've had is getting action so they can get some experience. Sometimes you just have to get your experience in the meets.
"I think they're improving."
Penn's sabres will continue to progress this weekend in a tri-meet with Harvard and Rutgers at Weightman Gym.
