In 48 hours, the Penn women's fencing team was overwhelmed by a strong No. 8 Yale squad at Weightman Hall and then bounced back to go 5-0 at the Brandeis/MIT Invitational Tournament.
After being sliced 20-7 by Yale, the Quakers decided not to sever their grips on a great season and cut up Brandeis 20-7, MIT 17-10, NYU 22-5, Brown 22-5 and Boston College 20-7.
"It was good to go 5-0," junior Christina Verigan said. "It would have been disappointing if we hadn't."
Leading the way for the Red and Blue over the whirlwind weekend included junior eppeist Kimberly Linton, who went 3-0 against Yale, and the foil squad, which went 34-2 at Brandeis, sweeping the both the Judges and the Violets.
The foilers -- freshman Emmanuelle Humblet and junior Lauren Staudinger -- anchored the foil squad, going 14-0 against the pair.
"We were really on fire," Humblet said.
After an emotionally-draining loss to Yale, the Red and Blue had to weather significant mechanical difficulties in their romp at Brandeis.
"It was a comedy of errors," freshman Yael Miller said.
When the dust settled, however, Penn emerged from the weekend at 5-1.
"I think we can see how much [momentum] can shift," captain Mindy Nguyen said. "We really wanted to come back and win big."
Much like last season, when a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Yale catalyzed an incredible rest-of-season performance, Sunday's results seem to mimic a similar trend.
This upcoming weekend will offer the Red and Blue a chance at Ivy redemption as Penn will attempt to cleave through Harvard, as well as Temple and Rutgers, at Weightman Hall in their second home meet of the season.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.