Filipino recruit Samantha Catantan and the Penn State women’s fencing team won two duals and dropped one team match yesterday (Sunday in the United States) on Day 2 of the Ohio State Invitational.
The Nittany Lions, who are the defending champions in the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1, came up with two victories over Ohio State and Northwestern, while their loss came at the hands of Notre Dame.
On the other hand, Penn’s men’s squad ended the day empty handed, dropping their duals with Notre Dame and Ohio State, according to results released on the University’s official website.
The Penn State women’s team first got past rival Ohio State, 16-11, behind performances from Ukraine bet Kateryna Chorniy and Axelle Wasiak, who is from Belgium.
The 18-year-old Catantan, who won a bronze medal in the recent 30th Southeast Asian Games, was fielded in against Northwestern in the 12th round, and the Nittany Lions went on to pick up their second win of the day.
Catantan, who is from Quezon City, swept her three encounters for a 3-0 record.
She backed up Chorniy and Wasiak, who came up with back-to-back sweeps, for 3-0 slates each.
At the end of the two-day invitational, the Penn State men’s team’s record was 2-3 and the women’s slate was 4-2.
The Nittany Lions return to action on February 21 when they go to Philadelphia for another dual meet series hosted by Temple University.
Catantan got off to great start in her stint with Penn State University women’s fencing team, debuting with a 7-2 win-loss record in her debut in the women’s foil event.
Catantan’s teammate, Lodovica Bicego, who is from Vicenza, Italy, was also impressive with her 3-0 performance against North Carolina.
Catantan’s win contributed to the Nittany Lions’ 15-12 beating of Duke and their 15-12 triumph over North Carolina, 19-8.
Their only loss of the day also came in Round 1 against Notre Dame, 7-20.
Catantan left for the United States last December to accept a scholarship with Penn State, which was offered to her in 2019.