No storybook ending in sight for W. Fencing

For the four members of the Penn women's fencing team who advanced to the National Collegiate Fencing Championships, last weekend was a bit of a disappointment. Coming off a Cinderella season in which the underdog Quakers silenced their disbelievers on more than one occasion, senior Kari Coley and sophomores Lauren Staudinger, Kim Linton and Christina Verigan hoped to continue their success on the national stage. But while all contributed respectable performances to the Quaker's seventh-place overall finish, each knew she was capable of more. Foilist Lauren Staudinger took 21st after a streaky two days of competition. Following a slow start, the sophomore finished the first day strong, placing 14th in a field of 24. However, she was unable to maintain her intensity from Saturday and her final placement suffered. "You have to be 100 percent on both days or it's really hard to make it up because everyone there is so good," Staudinger said. "I was feeling strong after the first day, but then you have to start all over again the next day. I don't think I was on, and that caused a chain reaction of bad performances." In her first trip to the NCAA Championships, Verigan overcame initial feelings of intimidation and awe to finish 18th in the sabre competition. "The gym was so big and the names were so huge," Verigan said. "But I think I did OK for a first outing." Penn coach Dave Micahnik was satisfied with Verigan's effort in a field he called "very varied in style and weapon." "I thought she held up well," Micahnik said. "Her fencing is still on a big up-curve, and she'll be back next year." Meanwhile, Coley and Linton placed 11th and 17th, respectively, in the epee competition. Coley's finish was good enough to earn her All-American honors for the third time in three trips to NCAAs. "Of all three NCAAs that I've been to, this was the toughest competition," Coley said. "The field was very even. The difference between first and 11th was a few bouts, and the difference between eighth and 11th was a few touches." While Coley took a little while to get her engine running before finishing strong, Linton fell to the opposite fate. Going into the second day of competition, she was an impressive eighth, but was unable to sustain that high level of play. "I hit a mental barrier," Linton said. "I was fencing scared. I was scared to mess up, and you can't do that." Though the Quakers all wish they could have done a little better, none can argue with the fact that the season has been an overall success. And with only Coley graduating, the future looks bright for the Penn team. "The prospects for next year are good," Micahnik said. "We will be a lot more experienced though we will be losing Kari. This was her farewell.... She did well and she went out a winner. And we're going to miss her."

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