UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Inti Farfan-Bayerl (Morrison, Colo.) and Kelli Wozniak (Westerville, Ohio) have been the new men's and women's fencing captains for less than two weeks, but they already have big goals and expectations for themselves and their team this season.
Named captains midway through September, the senior duo finds themselves navigating a truly unique season in NCAA fencing history. Head coach Wes Glon and his squad are currently gearing up for the 2020-21 season.
Farfan-Bayerl, a senior International Politics major and 2020 NCAA qualifier, said his biggest goal for the team this year is keeping practices competitive.
"The team has to realize that we have COVID-19 to deal with this season which is tough. But, it is fun to be on the team," Farfan-Bayerl said. "We have to make the most of it and work really hard to try and win."
Wozniak, a senior Mechanical Engineering major and 2020 NCAA Qualifier, said her goal for this year besides winning a national championship is trying to maintain normalcy for the team during these uncertain times.
"My goal is having everyone show up, everyone trying their best and giving the newcomers on our team the experience of being a Penn State athlete," said Wozniak. "I want to show the freshmen and transfer students that we're still competing, we're still giving it our best and that's what it means to be an athlete at Penn State and on our fencing team."
Both Farfan-Bayerl and Wozniak attributed their selection as captains to their work ethic and are looking to instill that same drive to work hard in their teammates this season.
"I really feel like we were elected as captains because we clearly work hard at practice and a lot of people need that motivation," said Wozniak. "The team is hungry for rings, so hopefully having captains that are examples of working hard will inspire everyone else to do the same."
Wozniak lead by example last season, posting a career best 58-25 mark in duals in the saber. She also placed sixth at the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Championship before becoming an NCAA Qualifier.
In order to encourage his teammates to work hard every day, Farfan-Bayerl plans on leading by example.
"I want to push my teammates outside of their comfort zones and make them work harder than they've worked before," said Farfan-Bayerl. "Since I've been at college, getting out of my comfort zone is how I've grown a lot as a person. I want to recreate that with everyone else and make them work really hard and try new things that will help them grow."
Last season, Farfan-Bayerl put his work ethic on display, posting a career best 52-30 record and placing third at the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Championship before becoming an NCAA Qualifier alongside Wozniak.
While there is still an entire season and NCAA Championship goals still ahead of them, Farfan-Bayerl and Wozniak already know what they want their Penn State fencing legacy to be once this year comes to a close.
"I want to be remembered as showing that working hard does pay off," said Wozniak, citing her personal improvement over the last four years. "But I also want to be remembered as someone who was friends with a lot of people on the team and who was more of a friend than a captain or just an older figure on the team."
"For me, it's a little different," said Farfan-Bayerl. "I want to be remembered as a friend, but mostly I want to be remembered as a leader and as someone who maybe you weren't super close with outside of fencing, but while we're fencing, you say, 'We can rely on this kid and he'll come through for us."