Jan. 9, 2016
ST. LOUIS - The Penn State men's fencing team had its second successful day of competition at the January North American Cup. Two freshmen clinched top-20 placements in the Division I men's epee event, however the women were not as lucky in today's Division I foil event.
Freshmen Anton Piskovatskov (Houston, Texas) and Sam Freiman (The Woodlands, Texas) were the top fencers on the day. Piskovatskov fenced attached and took home 10th place, while Freiman fenced unattached and came in 16th place.
All men's epee fencers advanced past the preliminary pools to compete in direct elimination play. Junior Lars Swanson (Mendham, N.J.) ended in 64th, freshman Joshua Cole (Chappaqua, N.Y.) finished in 68th and junior Patrick August (Las Vegas, Nev.) rounded out the pack in 110th. Swanson and August competed unattached, and Cole fenced attached.
The women's team had its first showing at the tournament, sending three fencers to compete in the Division I foil event. Sophomore Kasey Iverson (Basking Ridge, N.J.) ended in 66th, with sophomore Najiyyah Clark (Maplewood, N.J.) and junior Desree Ortega-Furgeson (Wyoming, Mich.) tying for 91st and 130th, respectively. All women fenced attached.
Tomorrow the Nittany Lions will enter their third day of competition at the North American Cup. Sunday's action begins at 8 a.m. with the Division I women's epee and men's sabre events.
Check back on GoPSUsports for daily updates on this weekend's collegiate fencing action. Penn State fans are encouraged to follow Penn State fencing via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pennstateFEN, on Penn State Fencing's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pennstatefencing and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/pennstateFEN.