The men's and women's fencing teams extended their season winning streaks to 11 by thrashing six teams Saturday in White Building. Mimicking last season's 14-0 record, this year is turning into another lossless season for the Lions.

The men's team combined squads to dismantle any willing opponent. All the scores rose above 20, leaving the opponents trapped in the single digits.

"It was quite a lot to a very little bit," Stephen Gold said of the scores. "The only time they won was when we underestimated them. But when we went in ready, we throttled them."

That's exactly how the day went. The Lions were confident, near cocky, all day because the opponents could not pose a threat. The only threat seemed to be Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov and assistant coach Wes Glon watching the matches, picking apart the fencers' every moves. Even they seemed at ease, though, as the fencers continued to "throttle" their opponents.

When Geoff Russell was struggling through a few bouts, Kaidanov warned him of his mistakes. Russell smiled, and came from behind to win the bout.

Kaidanov described the incident with a gleaming smile:

"He said 'Yes sir,' smiled and walked away and did exactly the opposite of what I told him. And then he won."

The biggest challenge of the day seemed to be maintaining motivation against teams that weren't a major threat. Chris Reuter described both sides of the issue:

"You have to go in knowing you're going to win, otherwise you'll second guess every move."

On the other hand:

"It's hard to get psyched when you know you're winning so much . . . but we still do anyway," he added.

The Lady Lions faced an opponent who demanded that they fight strong and smart, though. Uta Schaffer, fencing for Farleigh Dickinson, towered above the Lady Lions, both in size and in reputation.

Schaffer is ranked second in the world in women's epee and measures about 6'4". Her size presented a problem when attacking and defending. Her incredible reach demanded persistence in making any move on her.

"She's not that great, she's just so big," Lady Lions captain Lisa Posthumus said. "She's just so intimidating because of her record. People say, 'Oh my god, she's a world champion.' "

None of the women managed to defeat Schaffer. But Jennifer Carcich and Janet Rossman, the smallest of the four Lady Lions, persistently hacked away, sneaking in under Schaffer's reach for the touch.

Even with the strength of Schaffer, Farleigh Dickinson lost. Cornell, Stanford, UNC, Northwestern, North Carolina State, Wisconsin and California State at Long Beach also lost to the Lions.