UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams competed at the Temple Invitational with the men finishing 5-1 and the women finishing 4-2. Senior captain Ryan Griffiths, named Penn State Student Athlete of the Week on Feb. 16, was undefeated on the day and finished 14-0.
The men's team began the morning with a dominant 25-2 win over Stevens Tech, while the women were narrowly defeated by Temple, 15-12. Both teams fell to No. 2 Princeton in the second round of action, 15-12 for the men and 14-13 for the women.
For two bounce-back wins, the men's team beat Penn 20-7, with the women topping them 14-13. They kept the momentum going against Saint Joseph's University as the men won 15-12 and the women won 20-7. Both teams wrapped up the day with a pair of wins against John's Hopkins, 18-9 for the men and 16-11 for the women.
Many team members had standout performances as we near the end of the regular season. In foil, Samantha Catantan went 10-1 on the day with Aidan Johnson close behind at 9-2. Kateryna Chorniy led in epee as she went 10-4, and Ola Strzalkowski topped the sabre squad, finishing 13-2 in Philadelphia.
The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams will next travel to Lafayette College on March 11 for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals.
Penn State fans are encouraged to follow Penn State fencing via Twitter @pennstatefen, on Instagram @pennstatefen and on Penn State Fencing's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatefencing.
