Facing its biggest hurdle of the season so far, Penn fencing thrusted and parried its way to seven victories Sunday at the Philadelphia Invitational.
The men thrashed both their competitors, Duke and North Carolina, en route to 20-7 and 17-10 victories, respectively.
"Over the past couple of years we've had problems with regional rivals Duke and UNC," senior captain Ron Berkowsky said. "My sophomore year we lost to UNC because we went into the match thinking it would be an easy win.
"Every individual fought hard today, and it shows they're ready to get down and dirty with the Ivy League."
The women, meanwhile, had a far more laborious day, facing six opponents over the course of an eight-hour schedule.
The Quakers began their morning with an ominous start, as they suffered a tough 14-13 loss to Northwestern. Yet, considering the Wildcats' prowess - they are undefeated on the season - the Quakers were satisfied with their performance.
"The women had the hardest match first," captain IIana Sinkin said. "We only lost by two bouts against an opponent far tougher than anyone we'll face in the Ivy league."
Driven by its narrow defeat, Penn rattled off five straight wins.
North Carolina, Temple, Johns Hopkins, Duke and Fairleigh Dickinson all fell victim to Penn's wrath by scores of 21-6, 16-11, 25-2, 17-10 and 24-3, respectively.
Both the men's and women's teams attributed their victories to the level of conditioning they achieved as a result of the week-long, two-a-day intensive training camp administered by head coach Dave Micahnik over winter break.
"We had . one in the morning, focusing on conditioning and footwork, and one in the afternoon for bouting, lessons, and drill work," Berkowsky said.
Junior Ben Weider spent his winter break attending even more training sessions. He went to three separate training camps over the past 20 days, including the National Men's Epee Training Camp in New York.
As a result of his efforts, Wieder went 5-0 on the day, a personal first.
With Ivy League opponents approaching, the Quakers have reached a comfort level at the right time.
"The team is cohesive," Berkowsky said. "At this point, any improvement must occur on a personal skill level."
