Heading into the second weekend of a two-part competition such as the Ivy League Round Robin in fencing, all you want is a shot at the championship.
Both the Penn men's and women's teams have this opportunity. Problem is, their competition, Columbia (20-1, 5-0 Ivy), does too.
This weekend in Cambridge, Mass., the Quakers (Men: 11-5, 2-1 Ivy, Women: 16-3, 3-1) will face the Lions as well as Brown in the Ivy League Round Robin No. 2.
"We're in striking range of at least co-championships of the men's and women's [titles]," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "If we take Brown and Columbia, we're in. If we don't, then we're not."
The Quakers will face the Bears first, and then have to deal with the tall task of taking down the Lions, whose men's and women's teams have only a single loss on the season. Columbia's men's and women's teams also went undefeated in the first week of Ivy competition.
"They're very strong," Micahnik said. "They're strong in all three weapons. We're going to have to be at our very best and then hope they're slightly off."
The Lions have no weaknesses at any weapons on the men's or women's side, so looking at the matchup on paper, Columbia would have to be favored. However, as Micahnik loves to say, "You don't fence on paper."
However, when it comes down to it, all of the Penn fencers will need to try and beat all of their opponents.
Micahnik doesn't like giving quotas to certain weapons. He just needs everyone at their best.
Columbia itself does not have an easy road heading into this final weekend of Ivy League play. They faced by far the weakest field during the first Ivy League Round Robin at Harvard, which played a part in their current lofty position atop the rankings.
This time, however, the Lions will have to face a Princeton team whose men's squad beat the defending national champion Crimson in the first week of competition.
"Columbia, by the way, doesn't have a golden road here," Micahnik said. "They have the hardest three meets of the season coming up."
The intriguing storylines all intertwine into one pressure-filled bonanza this weekend.
Who will unseat the Crimson as the Ivy League champions?
Can the Quakers knock the Lions off of their undefeated perch?
Will Columbia pull through, with its destiny in its own hands?
While fans will have to wait and see the answers to these questions, Micahnik tried his best tot give one guarantee: "We'll give 'em hell."
