PHILADELPHIA, Penn. - FDU Fencing competed in a intensely competitive Penn Invitational on Sunday afternoon inside the TSE Center on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The Knights battled four top 15 fencing programs in the country per the USFCA mid season rankings. The Knights battled but lost all four bouts in the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday. 

The Knights opened their day of competition, with a bout against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who came into the weekend ranked as the 10th best team in the country. The Knights and Nittany Lions exchanged some competitive match ups early in the match, but the Knights eventually fell to Penn State by a final score of 21-6.

Lauren Colella was the standout Knight from the first match of the day as she notched three of the four FDU victories in the Epee section to nearly top the Nittany Lions in the Epee category, losing by just one in a 5-4 affair. 

FDU next took to the strip against the fifth ranked Duke Blue Devils, who showed themselves deserving of their latest ranking. Duke held firm control throughout the match, and despite victories from Sára Szeverènyi and Carmen Bolt-Turner, the Knights were bested by Duke by a final score of 25-2. 

The Knights looked to rebound in their next matchup, but found themselves in another tough bout, with the 14th ranked team in the country, the Temple Owls. Temple also gained control of the bout from the beginning, and FDU dropped the bout with Temple by the same score of 25-2. Colella was once again a spark for FDU as she won one of her bouts in the matchup with the Owls. Meya Colin also grabbed a win in the third bout of the afternoon.

The final bout of the day was against the host school, the eighth ranked Penn Quackers. FDU found some more wins in the match up with Penn, as Szeverènyi secured two wins as well as Gabriella Como to make a competitive Foil section where the Knights would fall 6-3. FDU could not make up for lost ground and Quakers grabbed the final bout of the day, topping FDU by a final count of 21-6. 

FDU will next fence in the final meet of the regular season, as the team will compete in the Schiller Duals in Evanston, Ill. Action from Northwestern University will commence at 8 a.m. on Saturday, January 31st. Action will continue on through Friday and into Saturday at the two day event.