W. Fencing Season Pre: Young fencers look to lead team this season

These Quakers are no strangers to overcoming adversity.

After losing captain Katelyn Sherry to a serious foot injury, the 2005-2006 Penn fencers bounced back to finish with a 10-5 record and a ninth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.

This season, the Quakers again find themselves with their backs against the wall.

Sherry, the re-elected captain and senior sabrist, recently sprained the foot that cut short her campaign last season and raised concerns that she might have to miss significant time.

Although Sherry acknowledged that she "won't be fencing this Saturday," her coaches and teammates remain confident that she can rebound in a big way.

The recurrence of her injury is "certainly not a plus," coach Dave Micahnik said.

Sherry's teammate, the sophomore foilist Abby Emerson, also shares Micahnik's concerns based on the team's experience last season.

"It was kind of hard because she wasn't able to do anything." Emerson said. "Even when she was back, she wasn't really where she had been before."

Micahnik is focused this year on capturing the Ancient Eight crown. To do this, the Quakers must overcome their relative inexperience.

"The goal every year is to win the Ivy League championship," he said. "This is a very young team, but I think there's a chance for growth and development."

Much like her coach, Emerson predicts that Penn will overcome all obstacles in its 2006-2007 campaign.

"I think we're going to do fairly well because we didn't lose any fencers," she said, adding that the Quakers had no graduating seniors last year.

Emerson also feels that the team will be buoyed by a recent surge in morale.

"I have a feeling people are really a lot more motivated this year," she said.

Another crucial component in determining whether the Quakers will rise or fall this year will be how the incoming freshmen fare. The team has high expectations of them, especially Tammy Levy. A rising foilist from Mexico, Levy will also fill in as a sabrist in Sherry's absence.

"We don't have a lot of new people here," Micahnik said. "But Tammy Levy is a very strong fencer."

Emerson also expounded on the importance of the newcomers, placing a special focus on Levy.

"We have gotten a number of strong freshmen," she said. Levy has "been at practice every day, [which is] really great. So she's a strong addition. Also, since we've been weaker in women's sabre, she's going to be fencing that weapon for us. She's really versatile."

Sherry knows that her dual role is going to be a challenge, but she also has faith that Penn will be on top at the end of this season.

"I think that the Ivy League is pretty tough this year. Harvard won the NCAAs last year, but [this season] I definitely think that we're among the top three."

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