DURHAM, N.C. ¨C March 4, 2006 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing teams sent 22 fencers to Duke University on Saturday for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals. Penn State fencers faced off against competition from 12 other schools. Senior captain Marten Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.), sophomore Arthur Urman (Maalot, Israel) and freshman Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.) all finished first in their weapon.

There were 41 NCAA Championship berths up for grabs, seven berths for every weapon except for men¡¯s saber where there were six berths open. Each school could qualify a maximum of two fencers and an alternate for each weapon. Fencers earned a berth into the NCAA Championships based on their initial seeding and their finish at the Regionals. The initial seeding counted toward 40 percent of the fencers¡¯ total score, while their finish accounted for 60 percent of the qualification score.

Penn State succeeded in qualifying the maximum of 12 fencers for the NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions also qualified three alternates for the event.

The Nittany Lions entered four fencers in the men¡¯s saber competition, all finishing in the top six. Fourth-seeded Zagunis won the event and 16th-seeded junior Axel Reblewski (Le Moliere, France) finished third; however, Reblewski did not qualify for the Championships. Tenth-seeded sophomore Franz Boghicev (Dormagen, Germany) finished fourth and will compete in the Championships. Junior Ian Farr (Portland, Ore.), seeded ninth, finished in sixth place and qualified as an alternate.

Qualifying for the Championships in the men¡¯s foil division were sophomore Jeffrey Chang (Hong Kong, China), who finished second, and freshman Alexander Louton (Hollidaysburg, Pa.). Louton took fifth place while fellow freshman Janos Gasparin (Grapevine, Tex.) finished 13th.

Urman took first in the men¡¯s epee division and freshman James Moody (Denver, Colo.) also qualified for the Championships. The sixth-seeded Moody finished ninth in the Regionals, but he finished in the seventh qualifying spot. Junior Erik Skarbratt (Kungsbacka, Sweden) finished 11th and sophomore Dennis Kraft (Rector, Pa.) took 12th.

The highlight of the Penn State women¡¯s team was the 1-2 finish in the saber weapon. The fifth-seeded Thompson won the event, and fourth-seeded junior captain Sophia Hiss (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished second. Sophomore Ashley Gin Fong Linker (Vernon Hills, Ill.) finished seventh but did not qualify for the Championships. Junior Laura Hillstrom (Gaithersburg, Md.) finished 12th.

All three of the fencers Penn State entered into the women¡¯s foil event qualified for the Championships. Senior Annekathrin Donath (Tauber, Germany) finished third and junior Tamara Najm (Morristown, N.J.) took fifth. Freshman Allison Glasser (Piedmont, Calif.) qualified as an alternative, finishing in seventh place.

Twelfth-seeded senior Katarzyna Trzopek (Warsaw, Poland) finished second in women¡¯s epee. Junior Case Szarwark (Nashville, Tenn.), seeded fourth, took third. Senior Andrea Wine (Friendswood, Tex.) finished fourth and qualified as an alternate for the Championships. Sophomore Megan Lutheran (Glen Gardner, N.J.) finished the competition in 15th place.

The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencers will next see action March 16-19 at the NCAA Championships. The Championships will be held at Rice University in Houston, Texas.