UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams hosted the final home event of the 2023-24 season on Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Multi-Sport Facility. The Nittany Lions competed against fencers from Penn, Temple, North Carolina, Columbia, Haverford and Yale.
The men's team started off slow with a 14-13 loss to Yale, but quickly bounced back and remained perfect the remainder of the day. They tallied wins over Haverford (23-4), North Carolina (16-11), Penn (19-8) and Columbia (14-13).
The coveted "Match of the Day" against Columbia boiled down to the very last bout in men's saber where Neil Lilov went up against Columbia's Jaden Callahan as their respective teams crowded the strip with Carolina blue in one corner and navy blue in the other. Lilov took a quick lead and continued to dominate, ending up in a 5-3 victory over Callahan and pushing Penn State past No. 2 Columbia in a 14-13 upset win.
The women's team had a solid outing with wins over Yale (16-11), Haverford (25-2), Temple (17-10), North Carolina (18-9) and Penn (16-11), only falling short to Columbia (23-4).
Penn State fencing will next travel to St. John's University where they are set to face Columbia, Harvard, Notre Dame and Ohio State in Queens.
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.
