Penn fencing impresses at Temple Open, wins 12 medals

The Penn men's and women's fencing teams' trophy cases will definitely be full after this weekend. 

The Temple Open marked the first time that the Quakers have competed in the past 19 months, and they did not disappoint. The teams collectively brought home 12 medals, earning at least one medal in each weapon: foil, epee, and sabre.

On the women’s side, the Red and Blue boasted multiple top-10 finishers in every event. The men’s team swept in foil, earning first, second, and third. As a result, the top-three finishers battling against each other to earn their respective ranks on the podium were all Quakers. 

Sophomore Bryce Louie and freshman Eric Yu faced off in the semifinals. Then Louie and sophomore Blake Broszus faced off in the final round. Ultimately, Louie took home the gold medal while Broszus earned silver and Yu earned bronze. Additionally, senior Jerry Wu finished 22nd, while junior Emerson Blutt finished 26th, and freshman Finn McMullan finished 33rd.

On the women’s side, freshman Katina Proestakis Ortiz took home the foil gold medal, as freshman Talia Becker Calazans and sophomore Sabrina Cho tied for sixth, and freshman Justina Lam placed eighth. Additionally, junior Grace Hao placed 22nd and junior Julia Thompson placed 35th.

The women’s team posted three of the top-five epeeists. At the event, all eyes were on 2019-20 first team All-Americans junior Jessica Liang and senior Vanessa Dib. The fencers did not disappoint: Liang placed second while Dib tied for third with junior Chloe Daniel. Sophomore Shirley Guo also placed seventh, adding a fourth top-10 finish in the event.

On the men’s side in epee, freshman Isaac Herbst placed second while his brother, senior Eliot Herbst, placed third. Senior Emon Daroian placed sixth, freshman Arthur Andreev finished 15th, senior James Armstrong finished 18th, and sophomore Hugh Milam finished 22nd.

In sabre, the Quakers took home both gold and bronze on the women's side. Freshman Vivian Lu earned first place and junior Amber White earned third. Sabre also had five more top-50 finishers: junior Sarah Hilado in 23rd, freshman Hailey Lu in 28th, senior Lark Izenson in 39th, sophomore Sapphira Ching in 43rd, and freshman Erica Wu in 44th.

Senior Steven Lin took home bronze in men’s sabre, while sophomore Marcel Merchant finished 15th, freshman Marshall Hong finished 16th, freshman Nicholas Molina finished 17th, and junior Enzo Bergamo finished 34th.

The Red and Blue will be back on the fencing strip on Dec. 5 at the Ohio State Invitational, attempting to build upon the team's strong start to the season.