Penn women's fencing ties for second at Ivy League Championships, men take fourth

A young star keeps shining.

Penn women's and men's fencing held their own against a talented field at last weekend's Ivy League Championships in Cambridge, Mass., coming home with a second- and fourth-place finish, respectively.

Freshman Chloe Daniel continued her stellar rookie season by going 12-4 over the six matches to claim the individual women's epee title and first team All-Ivy status.

In a weekend full of fencing action, the No. 8 women compiled a 4-2 record against the other squads, including a 15-12 thrilling win over national No. 1 Princeton. The Red and Blue's only losses were in their first two matches, narrow 14-13 decisions to Yale and No. 2 Columbia.

In addition to Daniel, three other women picked up All-Ivy recognition for their performances this weekend. Junior sabre Miranda Gieg (13-5), freshman epee Jessica Liang (11-6), and senior foil Nicole Vaiani (10-5) were all named to the second team.

After the initial two defeats, the Quakers were unstoppable, knocking off three consecutive foes ranked in the national top 10. Following the upset victory over the top-ranked Tigers, Penn topped No. 10 Cornell by a 17-10 score and No. 7 Harvard, 15-12, to go into its final match with a chance at second place.

The Red and Blue would ultimately dominate winless Brown, 22-5, to claim the silver, and Daniel was honored for her individual title after the match.

The women improved on their 3-3 finish from last year, and the men looked to do the same after taking fifth-place in 2019.

The No. 9 men began on the right foot with a 16-11 win over No. 8 Yale, who ultimately took third place.

However, the men’s team was unable to keep up its momentum, losing to Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, and Brown. Despite the tough stretch at the Ivy Championships for the men's team, Li earned second team All-Ivy honors.

The Quakers' performance was highlighted by a trio of All-Ivy recipients: sophomore epee Emon Daroian (8-4) was first team, and junior foil Michael Li (9-5) and sophomore sabre Xiteng Lin (7-5) were second team.

“We had some pretty good performances; Emon Daroian made first team, and we made a lot of first and second teams and All-Ivies, which I’m pretty pleased about," Li said. "It didn’t work out this year, but I’m sure next year we’ll come back stronger."

Despite their only victory coming against the Bulldogs, the men still managed to compete in close contests with three of the top six teams in the country.

While unable to secure a second win, Li and the rest of the Quakers are optimistic about the rest of the season and beyond. 

“I’m hoping to improve on our record, hopefully better than we did on Ivies, and work towards [improving],” Li said.

The Ivy League Championships showed what both squads were made of, and the season isn't over just yet. With marquee wins under their belt, both teams are confident that they can continue to build on their success when they compete in the nearby Temple Invitational on Feb. 23.