It was epee to the rescue at both the men's and women's fencing meets Saturday when both squads faced Penn and the men dueled with Notre Dame at the Malkin Athletic Center. But only in the women's competition could the strength of the epee squads carry the team to the overall victory.

After both the Crimson and Quakers won eight bouts in the foil division, procedure dictated that the judges turn to indicators to break the tie. But the teams were also even in points scored, each touching the other 54 times. Foil was absolutely even.

The squad then turned to the epee team to carry it to a victory.

"The foil team is usually stronger," co-captain Brindisi Chan said. "This is the first time that epee had to decide the score in women's fencing."

The epee fencers were up to the challenge. They managed to beat Penn in a very close bout, 9-7. The win was especially impressive because the Quakers are known for the strength of their epee squad.

"They did really well," Chan said. "The Penn head coach was an epee fencer, and beating his epee squad is a big win for us."

According to Chan, the key to the women's victory was energy.

"We got off to a slow start, but then we warmed up and when we started moving we started winning," she said.

Unfortunately for the men's squad, they couldn't find this spark. The Crimson fell to tough competition from the Quakers and Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was NCAA champion two years ago, and Penn always brings a strong squad.

In the six match-ups of the day, the Crimson could only muster a victory in one, epee against Notre Dame. But even the strength of the epee's 7-2 performance could not compensate for sabre's crushing 8-1 defeat, coupled with foil's 4-5 loss.

"This year sabre has been relatively strong," captain Paul Baez said. "But Notre Dame is very strong in sabre."

He added modestly that the epee's overpowering performance was not typical either.

"This year we [epee] have been about average. Foil is usually the strongest," Baez said. "We just had an amazing day."

While Notre Dame only beat Harvard by a single point, Penn won more convincingly. The Crimson fell in foil 7-2, epee 5-4, and sabre 6-3. Still, the team was pleased with its performance.

"Overall we fenced well," junior Drake Pusey said. "These are very challenging teams. Probably the best we've faced this season."

Although the women were expecting to face Notre Dame, which was in Boston for a mega meet at Brandeis, changes in scheduling prevented them from coming.