As a new season kicks off for Penn men's and women's fencing, it's en garde for the rest of the Ivy League.
Both teams dominated the season opener at Temple Open on Oct. 25-26, with 12 Quakers taking home medals. Both the men’s and women’s teams started the season strong, with an impressive performance across foil, épée, and saber.
Last season, both men's and women's fencing both finished eighth at the NCAA Division I championships. While star seniors — including foilists Sabrina Cho and Bryce Louie — closed their careers last season, the Quakers' performance at the Temple Open highlighted a strong incoming class that will fill their shoes on the piste.
In the men’s competition, sophomore saberist Antonio Heathcock led the charge, placing second out of 78 competitors in the men’s saber event. Following closely behind was freshman epeeist Simon Lioznyansky and sophomore epeeist Nicholas Jin, who both tied for bronze in the épée event. Healthcock builds off a stellar freshman year campaign, where he qualified for NCAAs and earned All-Ivy and All-American honors. Other notable performances include sophomore saberist Jaesun Yun and freshman foilist Conrad Lo, who each placed third in their events.
The meet, which was an opportunity for the team's new members to take to the piste for the first time, showcased both veteran and new talent alike. The men's team welcomed four freshmen with Lioznyansky, Lo, epeeist Alexander Moses, and foilist Alexander Wu. This was a particularly impressive debut for Lioznyansky and Lo, who medaled in their debut collegiate fencing event. At the end of the 2024-25 season, Lioznyansky and Lo were No.3 and No.55 internationally in the junior division.
“It was a good experience, warming up for the season,” Heathcock said, reflecting on the weekend. “We're gonna try to focus and nail down on things we think we need to work on, like smaller, technical details.”
On the women’s side, junior epeeist Grace Hu delivered a standout performance, playing first out of 87 competitors in the women’s épée event. Hu earned second team All-Mid-Atlantic/South Region last season and qualified for NCAAs the season prior.
“I was working really hard leading up to it, so I was definitely very focused in the moment. I was actually able to perform my very best the day of,” Hu said.
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Freshman foilist Kimberley Jang debuted her career donning the Red and Blue, finishing right behind Hu, in second out of 68 in the women’s foil event. Freshman saberist Lila Paul placed sixth out of 80 in the women’s saber event. Overall, seasoned athletes and freshmen combined to shine for Penn women's fencing and preview what they have in store for the rest of the season.
“I think this year we performed a lot stronger than last year, just collectively and individual results,” Hu said. ”From a team culture standpoint, we definitely feel a lot more united, and everyone shows up more. There's a lot more team spirit.”
Next up on the schedule for Penn men's and women's fencing is the Elite Invitational on Nov. 8-9 at Ohio State.
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