Before the season, head coach David Micahnik wondered whether the foil, which has been the Penn fencing team's perennial strength, would continue to carry the team.
At the Penn State Invitational on Saturday, however, Micahnik stopped wondering, as the foil lifted both the men's and women's teams to respectable performances.
In the four-team meet, the men's team lost only to the third-ranked Nittany Lions, and it defeated Haverford and sixth-ranked Saint John's.
The women experienced a bit more difficulty against these powerhouses, notching their sole victory against a weaker and more inexperienced Haverford team.
For the men, the impressive upset of the Red Storm was a testament to the emergence of the foil as the team's dominant weapon.
Overall, the Quakers posted a 14-13 victory over St. John's, while losing in both the epee and the sabre.
In the foil, All-American sophomore Ron Berkowsky remained undefeated for the season. He was helped in large part by the emergence of sophomore Corey Purcell. Purcell went 2-0 against the Red Storm and 3-0 against Penn State.
"This was a big jump for a guy who fenced part-time last season," Micahnik said of Purcell.
Given the epee team's inexperience and overall lack of depth, Purcell's breakthrough couldn't come at a better time for the Quakers.
Host Penn State's talented epee was too much for Penn to handle, as the Nittany Lions won 15-12.
The Quakers kept the score close by winning seven of the nine foil bouts, but Penn State won eight of nine in the epee and five of nine in the sabre to seal the victory.
Haverford -- not nearly as strong as the other teams in the meet -- was unable to keep up with Penn's men and women.
Given the difficulty of their other competition, the women performed well on Saturday.
No. 2 Penn State's world-class sabre team took seven of nine bouts against the Quakers, leading the Nittany Lions to a 17-10 overall win.
All-American junior and captain Katelyn Sherry -- still recovering from a broken foot -- competed in the sabre in order to qualify for later events. However, she lost all of her bouts, as she was unable to move around on the floor.
Penn's epee and foil lost by only one bout each.
In the foil, freshman Abby Emerson has emerged as the top fencer, posting a winning record against tough competition throughout the day, while freshman Cassandra Partyka has excelled in the sabre.
The Red Storm -- composed heavily of international fencing stars -- cruised to an 18-9 win.
"The scales were tipped a good bit," Micahnik said of the competition. "We schedule these bouts because the teams are very good and challenging."
As Penn prepares for Ivy League competition next week, Micahnik feels that his team is primed for a strong run.
"We're pretty much on the track that we expected to be on," he said.
Micahnik also noted, however, that Harvard -- which beat Penn State -- will be a tough opponent.
"We have a very compact schedule, so we have to grow fast," Micahnik said. "But our team attitude and spirit are good, so we're going to be okay."
