Nov. 2, 2009
Philadelphia, Pa. - In the first competition since winning the National Title last March, the Penn State fencing team saw great potential from the freshman and sophomore classes at the 30th Annual Temple Open. The tournament began on Saturday with women's competition and concluded on Sunday with the men's action.
Freshman Danielle Little made a splash in the women's foil, placing ninth in the overall standings in her first season action. Freshmen Casey Dietrich and Madeline Boyer also had solid debuts in women's foil, finishing in 19th and 20th place, respectively.
Sophomore Lauren Bauch, who is coming off a 12-3 true freshman season, competed in the women's foil as well and placed 15th.
Freshman Jessica Russo had the highest finish for Penn State women's fencers, coming in sixth place in the saber competition. Returning sophomore Olivia Benedek made a campaign for another impressive year, ending right behind Russo in seventh place.
Junior Lee-Grace Valigorsky also competed in the women's saber, finishing 19th overall.
In the women's epee, freshman Kyra Swick was the only Penn State fencer to place, coming in 26th.
The men's competition was also successful, with freshman Garrett Buell finishing seventh in the men's saber in his first fencing action. Freshman Nicholas DePinto and Jude Mark Keenan also faired well in the men's saber, finishing 16th and 27th, respectively.
Penn State also saw good performances in the men's foil, with sophomore Roger Kristof leading the way in his first collegiate action, placing 11th overall. Freshman Nabeel Dahod finished close behind in 14th in his first collegiate action, followed by junior Mitchell Juson, in 15th place.
Three of Penn State's returning fencers placed in the top 10 in the men's epee, led by sophomore Oliver Valdes, who stormed into this season with a second place finish. Also competing were senior Brian Heflich, who placed fifth, and junior Sam Larsen, who placed ninth.
The Penn State fencing team will head to Kansas, Mich. at the end of this week for the NAC Junior/Cadet/Youth event before coming home to host the Garret Open starting November 21.
For the complete stats of the Temple Open, please visit Temple University's athletic website at http://www.owlsports.com/index.aspx?path=wfence.