Who knew that the Penn men's and women's fencing teams would throw in a late entry to this year's Oscars?
The Cambridge, Mass. blockbuster that was the Ivy League Round Robin No. 2 had it all: tension, drama and a nailbiting finish.
The setup to this weekend's match could not have been more exciting. Both Penn teams were in the hunt for the league championship along with perennial power Columbia and the defending national champion Harvard.
Penn (Men: 12-6, 3-2 Ivy, Women: 17-4, 4-2 Ivy) opened up the day with an utter dismantling of Brown, with both teams winning all three weapons. The men took the match 19-8, while the women put up a 22-5 shellacking.
"The men's team . took care of business against Brown, which is exactly what [it] should have done," team captain Michael Galligan said.
With the league-leading Columbia men's and women's teams up next, the Quakers knew that a pair of wins would give them a share of both titles.
But the men's team came up short against Columbia, 9-18, losing all three weapons.
"When it came to Columbia, we were facing an excellent team, strong in all facets," Galligan said. "We just came up a little bit short. I can't question anybody on the team giving it their all. Everyone really fenced their hearts out."
On the other side of the gymnasium, the women did not know what to expect going into the meet against the Lions. Columbia dismantled the Crimson 23-4, but had a close match against the Tigers.
"I felt pretty strong," Sherry said. "Their meet against Princeton was pretty tight, and I think that we all went in it really with nothing to lose and really fought for every bout."
Just like their meet against Harvard at the first Ivy League Round Robin, the women kept it close but let a few key bouts slip away, which led to a heartbreaking 12-15 loss.
"I do think that we did give Columbia a run for their money as with Harvard," Sherry said.
Overall, coach Dave Micahnik was satisfied with how his team performed.
"There are a couple of people who under-performed a little bit, but by and large, it's what we had reason to expect," Micahnik said, noting that the men's team was inconsistent and the women's epee performance was "spotty."
Both the men and women ended the Ivy League season in third place behind Columbia and Harvard.
For every disappointment, however, there is a silver lining.
"This team really is only getting stronger," Galligan said. "I'd say we ended up where we should have, but look for us to build on that next year."
Perhaps, with a little luck, the Quakers' Ivy League sequel next year will add one more facet to their Oscars' entry: a happy ending.
