The Penn men’s and women’s fencing teams both have to wait another year to get their hands on the elusive Ivy League Championship trophy.
The men defeated Brown, Columbia and Princeton, but notched third place overall with a 3-2 record in the Ivy tournament this weekend in Princeton, N.J.
Defeating the Tigers was particularly special for the Quakers, who were seeking revenge from last year’s tournament.
Penn matched its record from last year’s effort, while Yale captured the title after finishing second last season.
Despite not taking home first place, coach Andy Ma was satisfied with his team’s play.
“We played great on the men’s side,” Ma said. “Individually, I was impressed on how our team performed, beating the likes of Brown and Princeton. It was all very close. We just came up short.”
The women’s squad finished 3-3 on the weekend and took fourth place.
The women opened up Sunday’s play with three straight victories to finish at .500 overall. Princeton took home the title for the second year in a row.
Senior Stephanie Wheeler, who competes in the epee division, was the women’s top fencer on the weekend. She was the only Penn female to finish with first-team all-Ivy honors — the first to do so since 2008.
“It was a very exciting tournament for me,” Wheeler said. “Defeating Harvard and winning two physical bouts against Princeton felt great. It was a great way to close out my senior year, except for winning that ring.”
The other first-team all-Ivy selection was men’s sabre Evan Prochniak.
It was his second consecutive time earning first-team honors, and he backed up the selection by finishing the championships with an 11-4 record.
“I didn’t get off to a great start, but I was glad how it ended,” said Prochniak, who started off the tournament 0-3.
Prochniak was proud of his team, especially considering the squad’s youth: most are freshman and sophomores.
“Hopefully next year we can come back with a lot more experience and claim the title,” Prochniak said.
The future is bright for the Quakers, according to Ma. The team that earned seven all-Ivy selections is already excited for next year.
“Our team was better than last year in terms of skill and spirit,” Ma said. “In terms of the future, we have a lot to look forward to.”
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