With nearly seven weeks between competitions, Fairleigh Dickinson women's fencing Head Coach Roger Cummings will lead his well-rested Knights into the Philadelphia Invitational Saturday, Jan. 21, in Philadelphia, PA. The event, which is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at Hutchinson Gym, will kick off at 9 a.m.

The Knights will be tested right off the bat with their first bout of the day coming against Penn. The Quakers finished eighth in the nation last season at the NCAA Championships.

Then at 10 a.m., FDU will face another difficult opponent in the Temple Owls, the ninth-place finisher at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

The afternoon slate includes tilts against Duke at 1:30 p.m., North Carolina at 2:45 p.m. and Cornell at 4 p.m.

FDU's last action was Dec. 3 at the NIWFA Christmas Invitational in Jersey City, NJ where junior Christine Forsythe (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) and senior Annie Kazarjan (Budapest, Hungary/Koecsey Ferenc Gimnazium) placed third and sixth, respectively in epee.

Freshman Kathryn Heaney (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) also made an impact, taking 11th place in sabre.

The Knights competed well at the 2011 Philadelphia Invitational with wins over NJIT and Drew. At last year's event, Kazarjan and Forsythe notched 13 victories apiece.

After Saturday, the Knights will make the trip to Evanston, IL for the Northwestern Duals. Competition is set for Feb. 4 and 5.