Men's, women's fencing face top competition at Penn State Open

This weekend the men's and women's fencing teams took on some of the nation's top squads in the 31st annual Penn State Invitational. The tournament, which kicked off the Tigers' season, included Penn State, Yale, Penn, Rutgers and Johns Hopkins, all top teams in the region. Notre Dame, the defending national champion, was also present.

Both Princeton squads were successful, with eight top-10 individual finishers.

"The team fenced very strongly this weekend, and we're excited for the upcoming season," junior Scott Sherman, who placed 12th in foil, said.

The men's team, which had two top-10 finishers, fenced all day Saturday while the women competed on Sunday.

Senior Jim Leighton, Princeton's top male finisher, was seventh in saber, while sophomore John-Paul Mitchell finished eighth in foil. Not only did Mitchell place well, but he also beat two Penn starters in the process, an impressive and promising feat.

Freshman Gregory Haislip, who finished 18th in epee, was the Tigers' highest-ranking epee fencer.

Traditional fencing powerhouses Notre Dame and Penn State were at it again, collectively raking in 15 top-10 finishers. The Tigers were excited to face such tough competition and to get a feel both for where they stand and for what to expect in the upcoming season.

"It gave us the scoop on our competition, letting us know where we have to be the next time we face them," Haislip said.

Although the team was pleased with its results, the weekend would have turned out better if the men had sent more fencers to the finals, demonstrating to the Tigers that they will have to work hard if they want to earn a place besides these talented opponents in the NCAA tournament.

"Although much of the team stepped up to the challenge, many of us didn't quite meet our potential," Haislip said. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us if we want to win Ivies this year."

The women

Like the men, the women's team was also able to gauge its current standing this weekend. It had a very successful tournament, with two top-10 finishers in each weapon.

Junior Catherine Pack, Princeton's most successful fencer this weekend, placed second in saber. Freshman Mina Morova followed close behind, finishing seventh.

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Sophomore Jacqueline Leahy and freshman Sara Jew-Lim finished third and ninth, respectively, in foil. Freshmen Erin McGarry and Kira Hohensee got their collegiate careers off to a fine start, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, in epee.

The entire team was very pleased with its overall performance, as well as with the depth that it exhibited in this season-opener.

While Notre Dame and Penn State were again very successful in the women's competition, if Princeton continues to fence as well as it did this weekend it has a sure chance of giving the defending national champions a run for their money this year. The team will also look to at least repeat, if not outperform, last year's sixth place finish in the NCAA tournament.

"I'm sure we'll have a very successful season because of our depth, skill, experience," Pack said.

That being said, in order to make these goals a reality, both the men's and women's teams will have to depend heavily on their younger players. With underclassmen dominating the tournament this weekend, the young Princeton squad has a lot of potential in its newest members.

The next chance the Tigers will get to strut their stuff will be Dec. 6 in the first dual meet of the season, which again will be held at Penn State. The team is confident in its ability and is looking forward to challenging Penn State and Notre Dame, both of which will be present at that meet.