W. Fencing faces former coach in quad meet

Former Princeton fencing coach Al Peters will return to Jadwin Gymnasium this weekend leading Cornell against women's fencing. Peters, who left the Princeton program in the middle 1990s to take the head spot at Cornell, has crafted a formidable squad at Cornell.

The women will also face off against the Temple Owls, 2001 NIWFA Championships and presently ranked in the top ten in the nation. Farleigh Dickinson and James Madison will join Princeton, Temple, and Cornell on Saturday in this quad meet. While the men have the weekend off, their Wednesday bout against Penn will determine their chances at a share of this year's Ivy League Championship.

For the women, Temple (16-1) is the strongest squad in the field and will be the program to beat. Last weekend marked the beginning of something of a streak for the Owls, defeating Steven's Tech, Haverford, and Johns Hopkins. This would mark the second undefeated weekend in a row — a streak they look poised to continue at Princeton. The team, which last weekend posted eight undefeated fencers, was led by freshman Nnenna Okoro who helped lead the Owls to victory by going undefeated with a 6-0 record.

While Temple will no doubt prove to be the women's most difficult opponent, it will be their game against Cornell that will determine their future hopes of a share of the Ivy League Championship.

Even if they win out, the Tigers will need at least one loss by powerhouse Columbia to even grab a share of the title. The women won the title outright with one loss in 2001.

Still, junior foil squad leader Crystal Jiang is confident. "[With] Cornell this weekend, Penn next week, and Harvard and Yale, I am very optimistic that we can win all of those matches."

Assistant coach Ben Hardt noted the impact that former Princeton coach Al Peters would no doubt have on the match, emphasizing Peters' keen understanding of the Princeton program.

Still, Princeton matches up quite well against Cornell. With Princeton's clear advantage in the foil squad and sabre squad led by Senior Maura Coleman, the Tigers should be able to counter Cornell's superior epee squad.

Senior captain Mindy Rostal confidently explained, "We will do great because we are just a better team."

Farleigh Dickinson will field a relatively novice club, which finished last year winless. The meet will be primarily about Princeton, Temple and Cornell.

"We are very confident and excited about this weekend," Coleman said. "We have beaten all these teams in the past and often by a very large margin. After last week's losses, relatively easy wins will be a good boost going into the core of our Ivy League season."

While the men will have to keep their swords sheathed until Wednesday, their match against Penn will mark their most important event thus far. While narrowly losing last weekend to Columbia, 13-14, a win over Penn and the rest of their Ivy League opponents will guarantee a share of this year's Ivy League Crown. While the Penn squad has not traditionally been a strong force, they benefit from many returning starters and an extremely deep field of fencers. Princeton will find a challenge hitting the road against Penn, led by foil Yale Cohen, who is ranked eighth nationally, and Jeffery Breen, winner of last year's ISA Eastern Fencing Championship.

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With Columbia's surprising November loss to Harvard, both Princeton and Columbia stand at 1-1 in Ivy League play. Yet a sweep over the Ivy League is by no means assured. While years past have left only Princeton and Columbia as true contenders among the Ivies, the fencing landscape is rapidly evolving.

"By no means are any of our opponents pushovers," junior captain Soren Thomson said. "While Harvard was always terrible, this year they beat Columbia for the first time in twenty-five years, and Yale went on to beat Harvard. We realize all these teams could give us trouble."