Wins over Yale and losses to University of Pennsylvania left the men's and women's fencing teams disappointed, but not mentally defeated.

The men sneaked by Yale 14-13, but suffered a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Penn. The women had an easier time with Yale, winning 11-5, but took a nosedive against Penn, losing 13-3.

Assistant Coach Wes Glon said the men's loss to Penn was very surprising, calling it more accidental than a case of being outmatched.

"I still believe that we can beat them back at the NCAAs," Glon said.

One outstanding fencer on the weekend was Bernard Steward. Glon said the freshman epee fencer showed impressive grace under pressure.

"He gave a great performance under a lot of stress and pressure," Glon said. "He was like an iron man. The pressure didn't affect him at all."

Glon was also impressed with foil fencer John Orvos' continued winning ways, but said the rest of the men's performances were up-and-down. Consistency is now a renewed goal for the men's team.

"We've been having trouble putting it together," Glon said. "One week the epee team will be outstanding, the next week it will be somebody else. We have to work to get them working together."

The Lady Lions' win over Yale was a pleasant surprise, though, since Yale placed much higher than Penn State in the NCAAs last year. Glon said the win increased hopes for future success.

"The women have been fencing well, looking at their wins over Temple and Yale," Glon said. "I think we can hope to finish in the top four or five at the NCAAs."

However, the women were not surprised by their loss to Penn. They had seen the Penn women fence before, and knew their strength.

Captain Johanna Picard said the Lady Lions demonstrated a lot of team spirit over the weekend, calling the meet a good one despite the outcome.

"As far as Penn is concerned, mentally, everyone wasn't strong," she said. "But, I don't know if being more mentally prepared would've helped. They were tough."

Picard also said that the officiating was not up to par. She said that it didn't help anyone's mental state when wrong hits were awarded.

On the whole, though, Glon took an optimistic view of the past weekend.

"It's happened, now it's over," he said. "Now we have to focus on being 100 percent against Columbia. If we beat them, we have a shot at No. 1."