UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's fencing team wrapped up its first day of competition during the 2021 NCAA Championships Saturday, with freshman Samantha Catantan going undefeated and two other women in the top four overall for their respective weapons after three rounds of competition.
Freshman foil standout Samantha Catantan (Quezon City, Philippines) led all foil fencers, winning all 14 of her bouts in her first NCAA tournament appearance. Teammate senior Lodovica Bicego (Vicenza, Italy) won ten of her 14 bouts and earned a .714 overall win percentage. She finished the day ranked fourth overall.
The women's epee squad also saw success on the first day of competition for the Nittany Lions. Freshman Kateryna Chorniy (Kyiv, Ukraine) won 11 of her 15 bouts, finishing fourth overall with a .733 win percentage. Sophomore Axelle Wasiak (Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium) finished eighth overall, winning nine of her 15 bouts for a .600 win percentage.
Seniors Kelli Wozniak (Westerville, Ohio) and Zara Moss (Cranberry Township, Pa.) fenced well for the women's saber squad on day one of competition. Wozniak, the women's captain, won nine of her 15 bouts. She finished with a .600 win percentage and ninth overall. Moss also won nine of her 15 bouts, finishing tenth overall with a .600 win percentage.
The women will resume NCAA Championship action tomorrow morning when they fence Rounds Four and Five starting at 9 a.m. Following Rounds Four and Five, the top four qualifiers from each weapon will compete in their respective Semifinals beginning at 1 p.m. Fans can livestream the morning bouts using this link as well as the Semifinal and Final competitions on ESPN 3.
Fans can keep up with Penn State Fencing at GoPSUsports.com. Follow the team on Facebook at Penn State Fencing, on Twitter @pennstateFEN, and on Instagram @pennstatefen.
