I'm only a freshman and it was intense and the competition was really strong. Hopefully, next year I'll qualify again and know what to expect, how to handle the pressure. This year I went in not knowing what it would be like. They beat me only in experience.

Fencing is usually an individual sport and in college you have a team cheering for you. Every win helps the team, it was nice. Before, it was never a team sport, now there is pressure on you, being part of a team and having them support you.

I just randomly got the idea, that fencing would be fun and no one else does it. I have asthma so I couldn't do a lot of other sports, like soccer and basketball, fencing a perfect fit for me.

A lot of people started younger. Some of my teammates have fenced since they were eight, I started when I was 15. Everyone has a bad day, I was happy to be there. I could have fenced better, but I have three more years to qualify. I'll try to do it again next year.

As I started doing really well, some college coaches started to notice me. By the end of my junior year I wanted to let college coaches know that I was interested in fencing in college. Penn was the perfect fit for me.