After a less-than stellar performance at the first day of the NCAA Fencing National Championships in Houston, the Penn women's fencing team finds itself in a worse position than expected.
The seventh-ranked Quakers managed to win 24 out of 48 bouts yesterday, good for 10th-place overall.
In the sabre, freshman Cassandra Partyka recorded a total of three wins, putting her in 22nd place. There are 24 competitors in each weapon.
The freshmen foil pair of Abby Emerson and Ilana Sinkin fared better.
Emerson and Sinkin notched eight and seven wins, respectively, putting them in ninth and fifteenth place. The top four qualifiers in each weapon qualify for the medal round.
In the epee, First-Team All-American Holly Buechel won six bouts, putting her in 14th place.
Head coach David Micahnik called the results "a little below par."
According to Micahnik, the overall strength of the 23-team field contributed to some of the difficulties that the Quakers faced.
Penn State currently sits in first place with 59 wins, and Columbia -- in second place overall -- leads the Ivy League teams with 52.
Today will be the second and final day of competition for the women fencers, as each team looks to amass the most possible individual victories.
Team scoring for the NCAA Championships is determined by total individual wins in each of the three weapons for both the men and women's teams. The men will compete over the weekend.
Penn's combined team is made up of seven total fencers out of a possible 12.
The only teams with all 12 competitors are Notre Dame, Penn State and Harvard, which currently rank in first, third, and fifth, respectively.
Even after the slow start, Micahnik remained optimistic about rest of the tournament.
"As long as our team does what it can do, I think we can get back into a good position," he said.
