Filipina fencer Samantha Kyle Catantan marked a memorable debut playing for Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) during the Ohio State Invitational held in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.
The 19-year-old fencing star who graduated from the University of the East (UE) high school went undefeated against Duke and North Carolina, posting a 7-2 record for women’s foil on day one of the sporting event on February 6, 2021 (February 7, Manila time).
Overall, Penn State beat Duke 15-12 and North Carolina 19-8, only falling to Notre Dame, 7-20, in the first round.
The Penn State women’s fencers went on to win two more two duals against Ohio State and Northwestern while also dropping one against Notre Dame in the following day of the competition.
Samantha Catantan from Quezon City, Philippines had a strong foil performance, going 3-0 in the 12th round against Northwestern. Her teammates Kateryna Chorniy and Axelle Wasiak had back-to-back sweeps, each defeating the Cats 3-0.
The two-day invitational wrapped up with the women’s record at 4-2.
The Nittany Lions will be back to see more action on February 21, 2021, for another dual meet series, this time hosted by Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Samantha Catantan is the first Filipino homegrown talent to be recruited by a Division 1 school in the United States National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Penn State also recently recruited Miko Eala, the Filipino tennis champion who graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain where his younger sister Alexandra trains.
Catantan gave the country a history-making victory for Philippine sports as she captured the nation’s first Women’s Individual gold medal in the Asian Under-23 Fencing Championship held in Thailand in 2019.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Filipina fencer Sam Catantan who made a strong debut for Penn State University during the Ohio State Invitational held last weekend!
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