Penn successful on roadtrip

Soothsayers were predicting Yale to blow out the Penn women's fencing team this weekend, but they got the victor all wrong. The No. 10 Quakers handed the No. 9 Elis a 19-8 beating this past Saturday at Payne Whitney Gym in New Haven, Conn. Riding the wave of success, Penn also manhandled Brown 24-3, Brandeis 18-9, MIT 17-10 and Tufts 17-10 before being foiled by Harvard, 15-12. The Quakers (9-1, 1-1 Ivy) were carried by a 44-10 performance by their epee squad over the entire weekend. Starters Kimberly Linton, Jean Goto and Livia Rurarz-Huygens could very well have been the difference against league rival Yale, sweeping the Elis' epees 9-0. They continued their excellence against Harvard with an impressive 7-2 performance. "Oh, man," Goto said. "That was great! We were all so excited." Goto posted a 13-2 record over the weekend and Linton went 11-1. The epees were not enough to put the Red and Blue past the Crimson on Sunday, as the Harvard foil squad swept Penn, 9-0. The Quakers 12-6 edge in sabre and epee were not enough to overcome this and the Crimson edged past Penn with a three-bout margin of victory overall. But this loss does not mean that the Ivy crown is out of reach. The Harvard squad is also 1-1 in the Ivies, having lost to No. 6 Columbia (2-0 Ivy). The Lions upset No. 5 Princeton (1-1 Ivy) this weekend, leaving four strong teams with similar records and the title open to any of these schools. Freshman power proved pivotal this weekend, as young stars have proved ready for the big stage again, with standout results from Christina Kaneshige, 11-1, in the foil. Although the Penn freshmen were strong as usual, the steadfast veterans are not to be ignored with captain Linton leading her team with an 11-1 record. "So far they've been doing great," Linton said. "We have a bunch of people who train hard and play competitively. It is very hard to beat that." The Quakers have their sights set on four more talleys in the win column this upcoming Saturday when they face unranked Drew, Case Western, Cleveland State and Rutgers in Weightman Gymnasium. But as they hope to dispose of the most immediate competition, they will have archrival Princeton -- who they will face next Wednesday -- in the back of their minds.

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