Penn State Fencing Captains Kelli Wozniak and Inti Farfan-Bayerl are excited to lead the Nittany Lions while hosting the NCAA Championships at home in University Park. "Penn State has never lost NCAAs at home when we've qualified 12 fencers," explains Wozniak, who hopes to continue that legacy this year.
This is a unique opportunity for Kelli and Inti because Penn State also hosted the NCAA Championships when they were freshmen. Now, as seniors, they are looking forward to, hopefully, competing in the tournament and inspiring a new generation of fencers.
As tournament hosts, the team is solely focused on winning, as Kelli and Inti see the comfortability of competing at home as a big advantage. With NCAA Championships only days away, the team is focused and is visualizing the task ahead. "We have a white board where we count down the days until NCAAs and it just recently dropped to single digits," shares Kelli.
The team is used to competing twice a month, but this season the Nittany Lions have only had two competitions total. To keep a competitive mindset, the team has incorporated more competitive bouts into practices. However, practices aren't the same as regional or national competitions. "When it's against your teammates, it's not the same as fencing against other collegiate athletes," explains Kelli.
With more practices, the team has also incorporated more conditioning as part of their preparation. "In past years, we've never had as many practices as we've been having now," explains Inti.
While it has been a long season, the Nittany Lions have shifted their focus to winning a National Championship. With a collaborative mindset, they know winning together means more than winning as individuals. As captains, Kelli and Inti also know how important it is for their teammates to be able to step away and enjoy being college students, to have separation away from the competitive sport.
Kelli and Inti encourage the underclassmen who may qualify for nationals to have fun and not put too much pressure on themselves. "When I was a freshman, I remember I put a ton of pressure on myself to be the best, and then when I would lose, I would be completely distraught. Now if I lose, I'm just going to keep going and fence the next one and just make sure I have fun with it. Ultimately, I fence because it's fun and I want to keep that mindset," shares Inti.
The Penn State Fencing team is always very underclassmen heavy, and this season is no exception. There are many skilled and talented freshmen fencers who are consistently wanting to improve and contribute their talents to the team. "I love these freshmen so much," says Kelli.
It has been difficult for the captains to spend time with the team as a whole this season. "I think the biggest challenge was not really getting to know the freshmen super well," says Inti.
Team bonding was something both Kelli and Inti were used to growing up on the team and something they had hoped to continue. However, they have had to acclimate to a smaller team dynamic this season. "I think we're focusing this year on quality over quantity of people and that was a hard adjustment," says Kelli.
Navigating this unique season, they have learned to adapt and lean on each other for support. Kelli and Inti are always at the front of the warm-up mat and spend the first few minutes of every practice checking in with their teammates.
"I think we both lead by example and focus our leadership style off of that," Kelli says of her and Inti's leadership styles. "I've been a little bit more vocal this year in trying to keep people motivated," explains Inti.
Wozniak and Farfan-Bayerl have instilled confidence in their teammates and hope they trust in their own abilities as they enter the NCAA tournament.
