Penn men‘s and women’s fencing finished off their 2024-25 regular season on Feb. 23 at the Temple Invitational, with the No. 3 men’s team ending the season with a 24-7 win-loss record and the No. 11 women’s team ending with a 21-14 win-loss record.
For both squads, the last few weeks have been busy after finishing up performances at the Ivy League Championships and the North American Cup. Despite this, the team took home six wins overall. With the NCAA Regional Championships around the corner, team leadership realizes that it’s important to stay motivated.
“We have some things to work on, and a few of us have had a really busy few weeks, so we are all a little beat up,” senior foilist Bryce Louie said. “It’s important to really remember why we do this sport, and because it’s really fun for us, and it’s not just a job.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams started the day fencing against Johns Hopkins — gaining wins 15-12 and 18-9, respectively. The women’s team played formidably, sweeping all three styles, while the men’s team won foil and sabre 6-3 while falling 6-3 in epee.
Next, they went up against St. John’s, with both the men’s and women’s teams suffering losses (16-11 and 15-12, respectively).
However, sticking to synchronicity, both teams bounced back against Penn State, winning 19-8 and 17-10 respectively with a dominant performance against the Nittany Lions.
The women’s team lost to Temple, falling 5-4 in all three weapons, resulting in a very close 15-12 loss to the Owls. The men’s team, outperforming its weaker opponent in Stevens, managed a dominant 16-11 win.
The men’s team finished off strong with an impressive 14-13 win against No. 3 Princeton, losing 5-4 to the Tigers in both epee and sabre but gaining a 6-3 win in foil, allowing them to clinch four wins and one loss through the day. The Tigers are the reigning Ivy League champions — a fact that Louie and the team didn’t take lightly.
“I’m really proud of how we’re about to finish out the day against Princeton. Being the final match of the day, it was really important to push there,” Louie said.
The women’s team lost 15-12 to No. 6 Princeton, winning 5-4 in foil but falling 5-4 in epee and 6-3 in sabre, going 2-3 for the day.
A part of the reason the team is this successful is the camaraderie, which was evident through how the team cheered for each other until the very last match. For many of the senior fencers, this was their final team meet, making it particularly special.
“It was a really surreal moment for not only me but everyone else. The big idea of the day was to really enjoy it, savor the moment with people that won’t be here next year,” Louie said.
The Quakers are set to resume competition on March 8 in the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be hosted at Drew in Madison, N.J.
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