In Penn women's fencing's sole win of the Ohio State Invitational Duals against North Carolina, senior and captain Simone Unwalla went undefeated in foil to help the Quakers come out on top.
Credit: Lizzy MachielseOver the weekend, Penn fencing headed to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Ohio State Elite Invitational Duals. The Quakers faced tough competition from Ohio State, Northwestern, North Carolina, and Penn State, and left with three wins in total: two from the men's side and one from the women.
The day began with a sweep against North Carolina. The men won 17-10, thanks in part to three wins by freshman sabre Xiteng Lin. The women won by a slimmer 15-12 margin, after undefeated efforts by foils Simone Unwalla and Nicole Vaiani.
The women then narrowly fell to Northwestern 14-13.
In the next round against the No. 1 Ohio State, Penn grasped a minor upset before the lunch break. The men leapt forward and earned the points to win 16-11. The women again slipped by just one to lose 13-14.
After the break, both teams faced Penn State and fell just short — the women lost 11-16 while the men were defeated 13-14. In the last match against the reigning national champions Notre Dame, the men lost 8-19.
The teams will go into Thanksgiving break and then finals before resuming their season in January at the Penn State Invitational. In between, the Quakers will face their alumni in December.
“We got a chance to learn from our mistakes for the next time we meet these teams,” said Penn fencing Director of Operators Randall LeMaster.
Two of Penn's opponents this past weekend, Penn State and North Carolina, will be competing at the Penn State Invitational, in addition to Yale, Duke, Columbia, Haverford, and Temple.
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