Fencing | Crimson look to foil title plans

The Penn men's fencing team hasn't won an Ivy League Championship since the 2000-01 season. But on Sunday, the Quakers are the odds-on favorite to capture this season's conference crown.

"It's not a shoe-in, but I like our odds," coach Dave Micahnik said. "It's completely in our hands."

Penn (15-0, 3-0 Ivy) will fence against Harvard and Yale on Sunday at Brown University. The Quakers are the only undefeated team in the conference and now control their own destiny in their quest for a league title.

If the Red and Blue win both matches, they will become outright Ivy League champions. Winning one of their two matches will guarantee the Quakers at least a share of the Ivy League championship.

"Harvard is a talented team, and Yale is good as well," Micahnik said. "We're in a better position against Yale."

Harvard and Penn are nearly evenly matched. The Quakers have a stronger sabre team in juniors Jonathan Berkowsky and Andrew Bielen and senior Anders Eiremo.

The Crimson have a very strong epee team. Senior Benjamin Ungar took time off from last year's season to compete at the international level and Karl Harmenberg is the son of a Swedish fencing Olympic champion.

So the bout will likely be decided in foil. The Red and Blue have three strong freshmen in Zane Grodman, Vidur Kapur and Alex Simmons. Harvard's senior captain Kai Itameri-Kinter is a strong competitor that Penn must keep under control.

"If our team is sharp, we can take them" Michanik said of Harvard. "We were underdogs against Penn State and Princeton and won those matches."

The women's fencing team is also preparing for Sunday's meet, where it will face Harvard, Yale and Cornell.

The women did not fare as well as the men in the first Ivy League meet on Feb. 8th, going a combined 1-2. The team currently sits in fourth place in the conference, behind Harvard (4-0), Columbia (3-1) and Princeton (2-1).

"The women had good rest this past weekend and have been training just as hard as they normally do for this meet." Micahnik said. "Every battle is a battle."

For both teams, the IFA Championships are Feb. 28, and the NCAA Regionals are the following week, March 7.

"I expect a number of individuals to qualify for the NCAA Regionals," Micahnik said.

According to the coach, the key to success for the remainder of the season is not overworking his players.

"I don't want to overcook the fencers," he said. "It's good to keep them fresh for meets."

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