Things continue to look up for Samantha Catantan.
The 19-year-old freshman secured her qualification to the 2021 NCAA Fencing Championships, as officially announced by the official athletics website of the Penn State University, Friday evening.
The former University of the East High School standout joins eleven other Nittany Lions who will represent and defend their home turf on March 25-28 in the annual championships of the league.
Catantan will be joined by her senior Lodovica Bicego (four-time NCAA qualifier) in the women’s foil tournament of the championships. The four other women in the squad are the Filipina’s fellow first-timers Kateryna Chorniy and Axelle Wasiak for epee, and sabre seniors Zara Moss and Kelli Wozniak.
Six male fencers are also joining the powerhouse Nittany Lions squad, with Bicego’s twin brother Sebastiano and Arwen Borowiak in foil; Ryan Griffiths and Jonathan Piskovatskov in epee; and Inti Farfan-Bayerl and Clemetr Perrier in sabre.
Catantan went 3-0 in two of her four assignments in her most recent foray into duals at the Temple Invitational.
The women’s events are scheduled on March 27 and 28 at Penn State’s own Bryce Jordan Center.
