Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Philadelphia Invitational (Duke Cornell, Sacred Heart, NWU, UP, JHU, UNC, FDU, Haverford, Drew)
#9 Fencing Goes Undefeated at Philadelphia Invitational; Owls Defeat Two Top-10 Teams
1.26.14 | Women's Fencing
PHILADELPHIA - The ninth-ranked Temple fencing team had an outstanding day at the Philadelphia Invitational hosted by Penn, going a perfect 6-0 including wins over #7 Northwestern and #8 Penn.
The rundown of Temple's day went like this: 27-0 vs. Lafayette, 15-12 vs. #7 Northwestern, 21-6 vs. Cornell, 24-3 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 18-9 vs. Johns Hopkins and finally a 16-11 win vs. #8 Penn, a team the Owls had lost to just two weeks ago.
"Needless to say, we are very happy," said Temple head coach Nikki Franke. She said it was a bit "nip and tuck" against both Northwestern and Penn, and to get both wins was outstanding for the team. Specifically in her role as foil coach, Franke was pleased with the teamwork of her squad.
"The foil squad really worked well together and picked each other up all day," said Franke. "Every school had good foil teams so we were challenged in every match. I was pleased with how resilient the girls were. They fought hard for every touch."
Temple's sabre squad had the best record of the day, going 9-0 against Lafayette, Cornell and FDU while also winning 7-2 vs. Penn, 6-3 vs. Johns Hopkins and 5-4 vs. Northwestern.
"I'm very proud of the sabre squad going undefeated on the day with three 9-0 shutouts," said volunteer coach Josh Herring, who coaches sabre for the Owls. "Everyone on the squad had a winning record, including Lauren Rangel-Friedman who was undefeated at 7-0, which shows how determined they were to fence well today. Tasia Ford, Tiki Kastor and Petra Khan were all 10-2 for the day which is outstanding against this level of competition."
The epee squad went 9-0 against Lafayette and Fairleigh Dickinson, while also posting 7-2 wins vs. Johns Hopkins and Cornell.
Epee coach Anastasia Ferdman saw some marked improvement with her team. "I am really happy with how the squad is coming together and learning how to complement each others' strengths," said Ferdman. "We are becoming stronger with each meet and getting quality wins against some very high level fencers. Rachael Clark had an outstanding day, going undefeated at 12-0."
Clark, a freshman, went 3-0 against Penn and Cornell en route to her undefeated 12-0 record. She was the only member of the epee team to not lose a single bout against the two ranked teams, Northwestern and Penn.
For the foil team, sophomore Fatima Largaespada went 3-0 to lead the Owls against Northwestern, while senior Epiphany Georges and freshman Miranda Litzinger each recorded two wins vs. Penn.Â
