Easy weekend in sight for W. Fencing

Be prepared for a romp. Hot off of a 5-1 weekend, the No. 10 Penn women's fencing team (9-1, 1-1 Ivy) will host Rutgers, Drew, Case Western and Cleveland State this Saturday at Weightman Gymnasium. While the Red and Blue are moving up in the national rankings after topping No. 9 Yale last weekend, they will be pitted against a docket of potential pushovers. "We should win all these meets," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. In order to fence against a strong program like Penn, Case Western and Cleveland State chipped in to charter the same bus to Philadelphia. These less-experienced teams will give the Quakers a great opportunity for target practice before the next Ivy League competition. "I don't think that they are going to be too strong," Penn senior sabre Christina Verigan said. "But at the same time we need to go in with the right kind of attitude. But it will definitely be easier than last weekend." Of the competition, the only team besides Penn that had any recognition in the national survey is Rutgers, who also received votes from the United States Fencing Coaches Association. The athletic scholarships that Rutgers offers has provided the Scarlet Knights with numerous formidable fencers, such as sabre Alexis Jamal. The Scarlet Knights' strength earned them two top-eight finishers at the Temple Open. After six matches last weekend, Penn took off from practice on Monday. Though the Quakers will not look past this weekend, No. 5 Princeton looms on the horizon next Wednesday. "This competition is the very first step towards the competition against Princeton," Penn Assistant Coach Iosif Vitebskiy said. "Princeton is [the] main [challenge] for us." Even though these competitions are likely to add more scratches in the "W" column, Penn's concentration remains on the Ivy League title, which will only be achieved with key wins in the weeks to come. "It is not [an important] result for the Ivy League," Vitebskiy said. "But for prestige, we must win." And concentration on the win at hand is key. Penn will face the three "lesser" schools before facing competitive Rutgers in the last match of the day. A loss of concentration or fatigue could augment an otherwise-predictable result. "It will be a long day," captain Kimberly Linton said. "It is reassuring that we are in good shape and at our peak, [but we are] mentally preparing for Princeton." Until then, however, Penn will keep slicing through the competition, one meet at a time.

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