Teammates never like giving each other a loss, but when Penn foilists Lauren Staudinger and Emanuelle Humblet faced off at the beginning of the final round-robin, their battle was the start of a day of individual triumph.
The bout went into overtime and though Staudinger emerged victorious, both emerged energized, as Staudinger took third place and Humblet took fourth overall. Both fencers earned a spot at the NCAA Championships this Thursday and Friday at Drew University.
"It was an extremely close bout," Staudinger said. "It helped us both go through the final [round robin] with confidence [and] was a strong first bout for both of us."
By the end of the competition, Penn had four women invited to participate at the championships, as well as an alternate bid. These four berths continue an upward trend of Quaker attendance at the finals.
Sabreist Mindy Nguyen took seventh in her competition while eppeist Kimberly Linton earned fifth place. While senior Nguyen will be making her fourth trip to the NCAAs, Linton will make her third. This experience in high-level competition may give them an edge on Thursday and Friday.
"I'm pumped," Linton said. "I'm ready. I'm excited. I want to do better than I did last year."
The tournament, while an individual competition, uses team scoring. With four competitors, Penn has a good chance of placing well.
The individual competition's results rank the top four players first-team All-Americans, the fifth to eighth place players second-team All-Americans and the ninth to twelfth honorable mentions.
"It wouldn't surprise me if all four [fencers] got one category or another," Penn coach Dave Michanik said. "I think the people that are going are qualified to do well."
And they are primed to do so.
"I would really like to make All-American this year," Staudinger said.
But there is a long path ahead. Twenty-three of the other best fencers in the U.S. will also be vying for that title.
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