M. Fencing slices through competition

If you were to see the results of the Penn men's fencing team this weekend, you would assume that the Quakers just breezed through the weekend. But it wasn't that easy. While the Quakers went undefeated, taking down Cleveland State, 24-3, Case-Western, 23-4, Drew, 16-11, and Rutgers, 14-13, the Quakers were slightly surprised by the talent of their competitors -- teams which were not as highly ranked as other squads Penn has faced this year. "We fenced well this weekend," junior foil Andy Radu said. "But not good enough." Penn coach Dave Micahnik agrees with that sentiment. "Some of the teams we faced were much more challenging than we expected," he said. Drew gave the Quakers their biggest scare of the weekend. Although Penn (12-1, 3-0 Ivy) defeated the Rangers by five bouts, they were unable to put them away after finishing a strong first round. "It was a little closer than I liked," Penn foilist Jeff Breen said. "We were not as crisp. Maybe it was because we were worrying about fencing Rutgers in the next match." After taking an early lead on the Rangers in the first round, Penn subbed in some of its younger fencers to give them experience. Looking back on it, maybe the decision was premature. "The subbing was inappropriate," Micahnik admitted. "They were better than we expected. We were truly in danger of losing." The match against Rutgers was also closer than the Quakers would have liked. "That match was pretty nerve-wracking," Micahnik said. "They are a good team with good fencers. Again, we were very close to losing. We did not have very good focus." "The Rutgers team really gave us a run for our money," Penn freshman epee Mike Sanders said. Sanders gave a lot of credit to the Scarlet Knight epee squad. "I was very impressed by Oba [Simmons] and Brian [Garrett]," Sanders said. "Oba is very talented and very fast. So is Brian. We weren't ready for that. I have fenced them before but they have definitely improved." While the score shows that the Quakers won by a single point, the team is quick to note that Penn clinched the match before the final bout. However, Micahnik is adamant that the team should have continued to compete fiercely even after they knew they couldn't lose the match. "We lost two-of-three foil bouts in the last round," he said. "That's inexcusable. This was a regional match. You still need to compete." The other two teams the Quakers faced were clearly not as balanced as Penn. While the scores in these matches were lopsided, Penn's fencers were still impressed by the quality of the opponents. "Cleveland State and Case-Western were not quite up to our level," Breen said. "But we still had to concentrate. It wasn't a cake walk." Breen had the best individual record on the day, going undefeated at 8-0. His two starting foil teammates, Radu (8-1) and Yale Cohen (7-1), were also impressive. A duo of freshmen, sabre Mark Kindrachuk (9-1) and epee Sanders (7-2), also had admirable records on the day. Overall, however, the four wins can be attributed to a solid team effort. "I can't point out any one individual," Breen said. "We all just came together and got the job done."

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