The Lions choked the Fighting Irish into submission. After the first two rounds, the Irish led by six points, but by the end, the Lions had built a 19-point lead over the school.
Led by the outstanding performances of Ivan Lee and Keeth Smart in saber, the Red Storm accumulated a comfortable lead. All but one St. John's men's fencer earned All-American honors.
"The St. John's men's team was pumped to get a big lead," Baby said. "They knew the women's team wasn't as good."
The Lions nearly gave the school from New York City a heart attack. During a valiant effort by five fencers instead of the maximum of six, the Nittany Lions shaved 12 points off the St. John's lead. To avoid stopping momentum, the women's fencers were given their space.
"We were treating it like a perfect game," Baby said. "We weren't talking to the girls too much and left them alone Saturday night."
The plan almost worked. However, the Red Storm had a night to think about the meltdown. The final round brought better results.
"After Saturday, the St. John's girls responded to the pressure," Baby said.
That response included a first and second finish in epee.
With only 11 competitors to St. John's 12, the Lions performance was nothing less than commendable. Even though the Nittany Lions didn't win the team National Championship, several Lions battled for individual wins.
Stephanie Eim ended her season third in women's epee. Marta Grochal lost to Stanford's Iris Zimmerman in the gold medal match.
Non Panchan fell to Columbia's William Dupree in the gold medal match. Adam Wiercioch fell to Princeton's Soren Thompson in the championship match.
The Lions had prepared themselves for this result. Undermanned, Penn State was prepared to not win that coveted number seven. There wasn't an advantage this time. Penn State wore an unfamiliar title for it: underdog.
"We knew we wouldn't have our best chance," Baby said. "It made us a little looser."
Not to be overshadowed by the accomplishments of their teammates, other Lions competed well too. Co-captain Mike Takagi finished 17th in men's saber and senior Omar Bhutta finished 19th in men's foil.
Amir Rahimi earned All-American honors in his first NCAA Championships. Daniel Landgren fell just short of defending his epee NCAA title when he took home fifth and All-American honors. Heather Brosnan and Stephanie Tam finished side by side at six and seven to end the season saber All-Americans. Co-captain Charlotte Walker capped off her stellar Penn State career with a seventh place finish and All-American accolades.
The Lions hope this is the eye of the hurricane with more championships on the way. But, disappointment will undoubtedly remain for the next few weeks.
"Yeah, we are a little (disappointed)," Baby said. "But, I think about UCLA with their basketball streak. They lost one in the middle. If we go out and do some good recruiting, we'll be back. This year will serve as a motivator. It's not the best motivator, but with 12 we know we can win. It works out in the long run."
Baby makes a good point. After all, they nearly made the impossible possible with only 11 fencers.
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