Samantha Catantan finally got the gold.
The Penn State sophomore snared the title in the women’s individual foil of the 2021 Garret Open at the University Park in her home university, Sunday (Philippine time).
Catantan took the gold in dramatic fashion with a tight 13-12 win over Delphine De Vore of Columbia. That closed out a sweep of the direct elimination bracket in style.
The former University of the East high school standout earlier swept the first round of pools. Unfortunately, though, she could not replicate the same success in the following pool round. With a five-win card, Catantan went into the direct elimination in 10th seed.
However, the Nittany Lions’ women’s fencing MVP proved that she can win it all this time.
Catantan first took down teammate Mikaela Yhip, 15-8, before making the quarterfinal with a win over Northwestern’s Sarah Filby at 15-9. She then advanced into the gold medal rounds after defeating two Columbia’s fencers in Zander Rhodes, 15-12; and Vivian Zheng, 15-9.
Catantan and the Nittany Lions are gearing up for the NCAA season that culminates with the NCAA Fencing Championships slated for March 2022.
The 19-year-old Filipino took the bronze in the last season’s Championships. She lost to teammate and senior Ludovica Vicego in the semifinal, 14-15.
