HOUSTON, Tex. - March 17, 2006 - Senior Katarzyna Trzopek (Warsaw, Poland) won gold for the second time in her collegiate career. The third-seeded Trzopek, who claimed the women¡¯s epee crown as a freshman, defeated the two-time defending champion Anna Garina of Wayne State University. Trzopek defeated another Wayne State fencer, Justyna Konczalska, 15-14 in the semifinals. In the finals, Trzopek beat top-seeded Garina, the only woman in NCAA fencing history to claim back-to-back NCAA titles women¡¯s epee, 12-11.

Also competing for the Penn State women¡¯s team in the epee division was junior Case Szarwark (Nashville, Tenn.). Szarwark finished the NCAA Championships with a 14-9 record, finishing in seventh place.

In the women¡¯s saber division, freshman Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.) lost to Columbia¡¯s Emily Jacobson, the 2005 NCAA Champion, 15-13 in her semifinal bout. Thompson lost to Emma Baratta of Columbia 15-14 in the bronze-medal match-up. Junior captain Sophia Hiss (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished in fifth place with a 17-6 record.

Penn State senior Annekathrin Donath (Tauber, Germany) took fourth place in the women¡¯s foil division. Donath, a two time All-American, lost 15-8 to the eventual champion, Erzsebet Garay of St. John¡¯s University. In the bronze-medal bout, Donath was defeated 15-4 by Harvard¡¯s Emily Cross. Junior Tamara Najm (Morristown, N.J.) finished in 11th place at with a 12-11 record.

The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing teams sit atop the team standings following the women¡¯s action at the NCAA Championships. The women finished with 93 victories, 10 more than second place Notre Dame¡¯s 83 wins. The NCAA Championships continue tomorrow with men¡¯s fencing action starting at 10 a.m. in Houston, Tex.