Fencing challenges its own

The Penn Fencing Alumni Meet last Saturday in Weightman Gym was a time for laughs, bonding and, most of all, competition.

The annual tournament pitted former Penn fencers against the current squad.

"I love the Alumni Meet," John Duff, a 1985 Wharton graduate said. "This is my fourth year [back]."

As usual, the informal competition was divided into the three weapons -- foil, sabre and epee. The foil and sabre teams could sport only one lineup apiece, while on epee there was both a men's and women's team.

"[The alumni] are very competitive," senior sabre Dan Vincent said. "They come out to have a good time, but they want to win as well."

Vincent and the men's sabre team made quick work out of the all-male alumni sabre team, beating them, 6-3. The Penn women, however, lost, 6-3, against the same opponent.

On foil, the Red and Blue men swept the alumni, 9-0, while the Penn women fell, 5-4.

In epee competition, where the alumni had a large enough showing for two teams, the current Quakers dominated. The Red and Blue men won, 9-7, and the women won, 6-3.

Gary Linton, a graduate of the Dental School in 1974 and father of junior epee Kim Linton, still fences in veterans' tournaments.

"Everybody here's a lot faster than the guys I'm used to going against," Gary Linton said. "But there's a bunch of good fencer veterans still."

Not surprisingly, he looked at the meet as more than recreation.

"Most of the guys here think fencing is just a vehicle for the competition," Linton said.

Other alumni, most of which haven't fenced since their days at Penn, were not as hungry to win.

"I'm having a good time, [but] I'm not as good," Ed Cleaver, a 1997 graduate, commented. "I coach a little bit, but I don't fence really. So as far as technique, I'm a little sloppy."

For other former Quakers, this was their first time fencing in quite a while.

"I don't fence anymore," Olivia Leon Class of '98 said. "This is just for fun."

By coach Dave Micahnik's estimation, "just for fun" is fine. He's simply happy so many alumni decided to return.

"It's a good feeling to know that they've enjoyed their experiences here and they want to come back," he said. "It makes the connection with the present team a little more firm when they get to meet them on the strip.

"We do this for fun, but also to cement the bond between the generations."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.