(11/17/00 10:00am)
The Penn men's fencing team can almost taste it.
Three straight top-10 finishes at nationals and three consecutive agonizingly close 14-13 dual meet losses to defending national champion Penn State put the Quakers in an interesting position. They are among the elite, but not yet leaders of the pack.
Penn's success confirms the value of coach Dave Micahnik's ability to develop talent and instill the value of hard work in his fencers.
Penn knows the one thing it needs to do this year in order to further ascend collegiate fencing's hierarchy.
"We plan to work harder," Penn senior David Cohen said.
The taste of a successful 1998-99 campaign capped off by the team's first Ivy League title in 15 years and a victory over Princeton was extremely sweet.
But after a second-place Ancient Eight finish and disappointing defeat to archrival Princeton last year, the success of two years ago has created a thirst in this year's squad quenchable only by another Ivy crown.
"Beating Princeton is our goal for the year," captain Charles Hamann said. "A lot of us were on the 1999 championship team and know what it takes to win. We are hungry. We have tasted victory, but lost it last year. [We] want to take it back. Seniors want to graduate on a winning note."
Seniors make up the core of a team boasting a talented freshman class. Newcomers, including those returning from injuries like foilist Yaron Roth, give Penn depth comparable to the nation's best teams.
The foil squad wields the team's most potent weapon. Comprised of Roth, Cohen, his talented brother Yale, a possible world junior team participant this year, standout freshmen including international foilers Derrick Menaldino and Jeffrey Breen, and a slew of other fencers with experience in international competition, the foil team may prove key to the overall success of the team.
"Foil is strongest weapon on our team. They match up well. Foil is an asset and strength to our team and crucial to our wins." Hamann said.
The epee team is also stacked. Hamann, junior Jim Benson, sophomore Javiar Garcia-Albea, freshman Charles Eriksen and junior Scott Eriksen form a solid nucleus.
Saber standouts include senior Mike Golia and junior Jeff Lee. The two will be joined by a third member yet to be determined.
The talented freshman class should prove valuable pushing upperclassmen in practice while seasoning themselves for the future.
"[Being on this team] is gonna help me improve my fencing a lot and its gonna be a lot of fun," Menaldino said.
Different from previous years, the entire squad will be engaging in a weekly group practice.
"We enacted a group practice one day a week. It's a change from the weapon-oriented schedule. It's a chance to work on footwork and technique and be together," Hamann explained.
With desire this strong and the work ethic to boot, the thirst for a title will fuel this team's drive. Only one sweet and satisfying remedy will quench the collective thirst of this team -- an Ivy League championship.
(10/18/00 9:00am)
Steve Prefontaine, the legendary American distance runner, once claimed that "a race is a work of art."
If that's true, last Saturday's Leopard Invitational was merely the Penn men's cross country team's early sketch for what it intends to be a masterpiece at the Heptagonal Championships on October 27 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y.
Placing second to archrival and national powerhouse Princeton (15 points) and in front of St. Joseph's (86 points) in the nine-team field, Penn (65 points) used the meet to build coherence among the team's best racers and confidence in the pivotal fourth through sixth runners.
Penn coach Charlie Powell instructed his team to race as a unit, even if it meant those orange OP's on the Princeton jerseys stayed out of the scopes of his team's biggest guns.
"We held the reins back on people," Powell said. "We didn't want to bang it. We went in with a specific goal, and did what we wanted to do."
Consistent with the team's objective, junior Matt Gioffre (25:54) and seniors Brian Kovalsky and Andy Kish (both 25:55) prowled in a pack behind the Tigers' top seven and a lonesome St. Joe's runner to take spots nine through 11.
"Running in a pack is a big deal for [Heps]," Gioffre said. "If me and Kovalsky can stick together and a pack of 3-4-5 run well behind us, it is really good for scoring."
Penn junior Anthony Ragucci, who meant to trail the lead threesome to help guide teammates forward, came in 17th at 26:15.
"I wanted to help pull along the guys behind me," he said.
Sophomores Anthony Sager (24th) and Billy Moore (31st) looked to pair-up through the five-mile course, but Moore got caught up in some congestion late in the race to finish nine seconds behind Sager in 26:43.
Fellow sophomore Stefan Kolata, the 54th man to finish, rounded out the seven Penn scorers, one minute and 27 seconds behind Gioffre's group.
In preparation for next week's pivotal race, Powell has been employing triumvirates, a practice tactic consisting of two hard, steady short runs split by a longer run.
Saturday's race served as the first component of this design. Sunday's 15-miler in practice and Monday's six-miler paced at around 5:15 were the final two legs.
Penn looks to refine its practice focus this week with a series of speed workouts.
This is meant to help runners ascend toward their peak -- a period during which runners are capable of going at their maximum level of performance -- in time for the season's bigger races.
"Our peak phase is intended to begin at Heps," Ragucci said.
The Quakers adhered to a program of long-distance pounding during the summer and early fall, which builds a base of mileage, followed by a gradual transition to crisp, faster runs down the stretch.
And with Princeton sweeping Saturday's race leaderboard, Penn better hit its most valiant stride soon.
"Princeton is running excellent. They are a top-25 team in the country," Powell said.
The Quakers men's cross country team knows it is time to turn in its sketching pads and pencils and turn Van Cortlandt's formidable outline into a finished work.
