Dec. 1, 2012
VASSAR, N.Y. - The Penn State fencing team competed in its first dual action of the season today at Vassar College. The one-day event put the Nittany Lions against Vassar, NYU, Harvard, Sacred Heart, and Princeton.
Penn State began the day by dominating host Vassar, boasting a 26-1 finish in the men's competition and 25-2 finish in the women's competition. The Nittany Lions then took on NYU and the men finished with a 22-5 victory, and women with a 19-8 victory.
Following NYU, Penn State competed against Harvard. The men's team fought hard to pull out a 16-11 victory, and the women walked away with a 17-10 victory. The Nittany Lions then dominated Sacred Heart with 20-7 and 21-6 victories for the men and women, respectively.
Both teams struggled against Princeton, but the men pulled off the needed win by a score of 15-12. The women's effort fell short, and the team lost their only match of the day by a score of 8-19.
The Nittany Lions had squad and individual successes as well. Both the men's saber and men's foil teams went undefeated on the day. The women's saber and foil teams each finished the competition with a 4-1 record.
Freshman Kaito Streets had an outstanding day, and finished the competition with a 13-2 record. Freshman Nobuo Bravo led the men's foil team with his 9-2 performance. Senior Vernon O'Garra led the men's epee team with a record of 8-2.
The women's epee team was led by freshman Jessica O'Neill-Lyublinsky and senior Margherita Guzzi Vincenti who went 10-4 and 9-3 on the day, respectively. Freshman Clarisse Luminet performed well for the women's foil team, with a record of 9-1. Junior Nicole Glon built on her successful season with a record of 12-3 for the women's saber team.
Members of the team will travel to Milwaukee next weekend to compete in the Olympic Trials. The Nittany Lions will be the host of their next NCAA meet on Jan. 12, 2013, in the White Building.