Filipino fencers Samantha Catantan of Penn State University and Lance Tan of Sacred Heart University made history as the two earned spots in the US NCAA Fencing Championships on March 25 to 28 at the Bryce Jordan Center Multi-Sport Facility in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Catantan, a freshman, and Tan, a sophomore, are competing in the foil event of the tournament.
The first homegrown Filipino to play for a Division 1 school in the US NCAA, Catantan’s historic run to the main tournament showcased her talent during the qualifying meet where she was nearly unbeaten.
Now, the 19-year-old member of the national team is one of the exciting young fencers to watch as women’s action will begin Saturday, March 27 (Sunday, March 28 in the Philippines).
“I am very happy, it’s a blessing for me to be in the finals,” said Catantan in a message exchange with Manila Bulletin. “Just like in my previous bouts, I’ll give my best for the school, and of course for the country.”
“As a foreign athlete, I also represent the Philippines here in the US NCAA and I’m very proud of that. I hope to do well when the competition begins,” added Catantan, gold medalist in the Under-23 Asian Championship.
The 20-year-old Tan, on the other hand, is a US-based Filipino fencer who has represented the country in various international competitions, including the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
“I’m very proud and honored to have been selected. It looks like I was an "at large" selection, and the only MF (men’s foil) from my university chosen,” said Tan, who is set to join – like Catantan – in next month’s World Junior Fencing Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
Tan said he is very ecstatic that he and Catantan are in the US NCAA fencing championship, saying: “This is the Philippines’ first male and female to qualify for NCAA national champs. When I got the news, I was thinking of Pilipinas Laban.”
Tan said Catantan already reached out to him by saying: “See you next week."
“We are the only two fencers from the Philippines in the NCAA right now and we both qualified for the National Championships. So we are 2-for-2,” said Tan, who is set to compete on Thursday, March 25 (Friday, March 26 in the Philippines).
“I know we both want to represent the Philippines well, and we will both be proud to represent our country in this national championship, as well as our universities,” Tan added.