COLUMBUS, OHIO - The University of Pennsylvania men's and women's fencing teams got their season under way as they took on the Elite Invitational in Columbus, Ohio taking on schools such as North Carolina, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ohio State, Cleveland State, Northwestern, and Air Force. 

When all was said and done, the men won four of their five duals with their only loss coming 15-12 to Ohio State. Penn won it's other four matches against North Carolina, NJIT, Air Force, and maybe the most impressive win against Cleveland State that came in dominant 29-0 fashion. 

Meanwhile, the women also won four of their five matches with their only loss also coming to Ohio State. The women defeated North Carolina, NJIT, Air Force, and Northwestern in close 15-12 fashion. 

Men's Scores

Penn 16, UNC 11
Penn 17, NJIT 10
Penn 12, Ohio State 15
Penn 29, Cleveland State 0
Penn 18, Air Force 9

Taking on North Carolina, John Vaiani, Aaron Ahn, Alexandre Amice, Michael Li, and Raymond Chen all secured wins in foil to give the Quakers a 7-2 advantage that was enough to get them the win. In the loss to Ohio State, while Penn split both foil and Saber, a 6-3 loss in epee was the difference. 

Women's Scores

Penn 17, UNC 10
Penn 22, NJIT 5
Penn 9, Ohio State 18
Penn 15, Northwestern 12
Penn 18, Air Force 9

Against North Carolina, it was the foil team that gave the Quakers the advantage winning seven of the nine matchups. In round four against Northwestern, The Red and Blue took a 6-3 lead in saber and were able to hold on to the three point lead as the two teams split the final two rounds of epee and foil. Miranda Gieg won all three of her duals to give the Quakers the edge. 

What's Next

Next up the Quakers will travel to their first North American Cup (NAC) of the season in Kansas City, Missouri.