Jan. 29, 2008

STATE COLLEGE, PA. - The North Carolina women's fencing team had a strong showing in the Penn State dual meets in State College, Pa., on Saturday finishing 2-1.

The Tar Heels lost to Temple by a score of 9-18 but were able to recover and defeat Haverford 17-10 and Drew 21-6.

The team was led by outstanding performances from sophomore foil fencer May-Lynne Chen-Contino, sophomore sabre fencers Jennifer Sawicki and Patti Sanders, and freshman epee fencer Melissa Litschi.

Also strong for the Tar Heels was Katie Williamson, a freshman foil fencer. She finished the day with a record of 8-1 but was eager to praise the entire team's performance.

"I thought our team did a really good job of staying focused on the strip," she said. "We recovered well from our initial loss to Temple and finished the day strong."

Head Coach Ron Miller also praised the women's squads but recognized that there is still work to be done.

"The women's team fenced better against Temple than they have in years. They fought well, but they were still not at their best. We're still learning to pull together as a team. We have a lot of good talent and a lot of good athletes, but we are still learning to work together. Overall though, we did show some improvement."