Monday, Jan. 26, 1998

Only one stumble at home for fencers

By DONNIE COLLINS
Collegian Sports Writer

The Stanford Cardinal women's fencing team did in an hour and a half what no team has done in nearly three years.

Stanford defeated the Lady Lion fencing team Saturday 18-14 in the White Building, handing the team its first loss of the season and first loss since a Feb. 4, 1995, defeat against Yale. Ironically, the score in that meet was also 18-14.

If the Lions let the loss to Stanford bother them, they didn't show it in their following two meets. After losing, the Lions routed both Haverford and Air Force by identical 29-3 scores. They opened the day with a 27-5 victory over Duke.

Surely, the Lions (6-1) took their first loss in 41 matches in stride.

"Even though we lost, each one of us fenced to our best," said Penn State foil fencer Cecilia Esteva. "We didn't give up any touches or bouts or anything like that."

Penn State fencer Gang Lu (left) advances against his Stanford opponent. In the team's first and only home meets this season,the women's team was defeated by Stanford but notched wins against Air Force, Duke and Haverford while the men's team swept those same teams. (Collegian Photo/Megan K. Morr - click for full size image)

Esteva and her teammates in foil had a tough time against Stanford's Felicia Zimmerman, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Fencing team, and Monique DeBruin, a third alternate for the same squad. Combined, Zimmerman and DeBruin lost just one of their eight bouts. The only Penn State victory over Stanford's dynamic duo was recorded by sophomore Christine Belsito, who defeated DeBruin 5-2.

Lion coach Emmanuil Kaidanov dismissed any thought of a letdown and admitted there is no shame in losing to a team of Stanford's caliber.

"We lost against a worthy opponent, and there is nothing tragic in that," Kaidanov said. "Besides, we learned a pretty good lesson. It's something to count for the future meets."

While the women suffered a setback, the Penn State men's fencing team kept its winning streak alive.

The Nittany Lions (7-0) defeated Duke, Stanford, Haverford and Air Force with their closest match also coming against the Cardinal, whom the Lions defeated 17-10.

The most impressive numbers against Stanford came from the men's sabre team, which recorded a perfect 9-0 record. The sabre team was solid throughout the day. Junior Brian Walther and freshman Michael Takagi dropped just one bout each in four matches, while their teammate, freshman Aaron Steuwe, notched a perfect 12-0 record. Kaidanov knew his sabre team would have to put forth its maximum effort for the fencers to beat Stanford.

"They have a very strong foil squad," said Penn State sophomore foilsman Gang Lu. "But we believed we could still control them."

Penn State edged the Cardinal 5-4 in men's foil by defeating Stanford's Alex Wood, the No. 1-ranked foilsman in the nation's under-20 rankings, three times. However, Stanford's other star foilsman, No. 4-ranked Tim Chang, pinned a defeat on each of the Lions' previously undefeated foilsmen -- juniors David Lidow and Donald McGill and Lu.

The trio said Chang simply had a good day when it counted most.

"I think he was just on today," McGill said. "Sometimes, people just hit a certain day when they're great and you just can't stop them."

The Lions feel they can build off their success and learn from the errors they committed during their only home meet of the season.

"The team fenced well overall, with a few mistakes here and there," Lidow said. "Nothing that won't be cleaned up by the time NCAAs roll around."