Temple University Athletics

Sunday, February 26
McGonigle Hall
9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Temple University

vs

Temple Invitational (Penn State, St. John's, Brown, Princeton, Penn, Stevens)

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

No. 7 Fencing Beats No. 1 Princeton and No. 4 Penn; Goes 4-1 Overall

2.26.17 | Women's Fencing

PHILADELPHIA - With wins over the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the nation, No. 7 Temple fencing finished 4-1 at its own Temple Invitational on Sunday. The Owls finished the dual meet season with a record of 34-9, surpassing their previous program record for wins in a season by six.

Temple set the tone for the day early on, upsetting previously undefeated and top-ranked Princeton by a score of 14-13. Both the sabre and epee squads won 5-4 against the Tigers, with senior team captain Alexandra Keft coming back from an injury timeout to win the crucial 14th point. Sabre freshmen Malia Hee and Kerry Plunkett both defeated Princeton's Sage Palmedo, the first alternate to the 2016 Olympic Team.

"It felt great to beat Princeton," said Temple head coach Dr. Nikki Franke. "The girls just came out on fire. They really wanted it and have worked hard all season. Today they just really stayed together and were really consistent. Last year in this meet we were 1-3 so this was a big turnaround for us and we're very pleased."

27981Keft (epee) and her two fellow seniors and squad captains, Kristen Kemnitzer (foil) and Victoria Suber (sabre) were all honored prior to the start of the meet for Senior Day. It was a memorable one from the start.

"It was very emotional with our seniors, and they had a great day today," said Franke. "You can't wish for anything better than for them to finish out the last dual meet on top. It was great."

The second match of the day posed little trouble for Temple as the Owls defeated Brown, 25-2. Both the foil and sabre squads posted 9-0 marks against the Bears.

The second top 5 team fell to Temple in round 3, as the Owls avenged an earlier 19-8 loss to Penn by beating the Quakers 15-12 at their home gym. Leading the way was the sabre squad with a 7-2 win, while epee also won by a score of 6-3. Hee, who went a perfect 3-0 against both Princeton and Penn, came back from a 4-0 deficit to win 5-4 in her third bout against the Quakers.

No. 5 Penn State handed Temple its lone loss in round 4, winning 16-11. The Owls did get a sabre squad win against the Nittany Lions, 5-4. Plunkett came up big again, sweeping her Penn State opponents 3-0.

The final match of the day was a close one for the Owls against St. John's, but the foil team's 9-0 effort secured the win for Temple. Kemnitzer, sophomore Auset Muhammad and freshman Kennedy Lovelace all went 3-0 in the match. Overall, the Owls won 15-12 against the Red Storm.

Keft finished as the top performer for epee, going 8-1 on her Senior Day. Plunkett and Hee went 8-4 and 7-3 for the sabre squad, respectively. Lovelace led the foil squad at 10-5 overall while Muhammad went 9-6.

Next up for Temple is the NIWFA Championships, where the Owls will attempt to win their 21st straight team title. The meet is set for Saturday, March 4 at Army in West Point, N.Y.

Temple 14, Princeton 13
Foil: 4-5
Epee: 5-4
Sabre: 5-4

Temple 25, Brown 2
Foil: 9-0
Epee: 7-2
Sabre: 9-0

Temple 15, Penn 12
Foil: 2-7
Epee: 6-3
Sabre: 7-2

Penn State 16, Temple 11
Foil: 2-7
Epee: 4-5
Sabre: 5-4

Temple 15, St. John's 12
Foil: 9-0
Epee: 4-5
Sabre: 2-7
Ep. 10: Temple Homecoming Preview; Volleyball Assistant Coach Taylor Davenport
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Ep. 9: Head Women's Soccer Coach Chris Shaw
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Ep. 8: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Women's Cross Country Runner Amelia Sabatino
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Ep. 7: Temple Field Hockey Alumna Cherifa Howarth
Friday, September 26