Hoping to prove the legitimacy in being ranked the No. 1 men’s and women’s fencing team in the country, Penn State will play its final home match of the 2011-12 this Saturday.
Players take pride in the No. 1 ranking, but claim that it does not matter in the grand scheme of things.
“We have the right squad across the board to be ranked No. 1, but it really doesn’t mean anything unless we finish No. 1,” men’s captain Aleksander Ochocki said
Team captains, Ochocki (men’s saber) and Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (women’s epee), are looking to continue their standout individual performances. At last weekends’ St. John’s invitational, the pair combined for a 23-7 record.
The rest of the team played a bit sluggish in comparison, as the women’s team went 2-3 on the day and the men finished 3-2.
“I’m expecting us to play a lot better than last week,” assistant coach Victor Svatenko said. “There were much stronger teams there and we were not ready for that competition.”
Players also pointed to the fact that the St. John’s match pitted them against the fellow great college teams, including Notre Dame and rival Ohio State. Both the men and women fell short to Ohio State, but as a positive, each squad toppled Notre Dame — the team that left a bitter taste in Penn State’s mouth after last year’s national championship.
“This time around we need to be a lot more consistent,” said Ochocki. “Everybody’s obviously talented and we’re working hard, but I think now we need to get on a steady path up in order to finish strong.”
In the one-day event starting at 9 a.m., held in the White Building Gymnasium, Penn State will play host to Drew University, North Carolina, Haverford and John’s Hopkins. In addition to those four, Duke and the University of Pennsylvania have come along for the contest, two teams that join Penn State in the elite class of collegiate fencing.
Duke and Penn’s clubs currently rank in the top-10 of both the men’s and women’s rankings.
“We shouldn’t have much trouble, but it’ll be tough starting off the day with UNC and UPenn,” said Ochocki.
Svatenko remains optimistic that last week was more of a fluke than a sign of things to come, saying, “I think we’ll beat everybody this time.”
