HOUSTON, Tex. - March 19, 2006 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing teams fell short in their bid for a 10th NCAA Championship under head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov. The team finished second behind Harvard University who accumulated 165 victories throughout the Championships. Penn State finished with 159 victories.

Sophomore Franz Boghicev (Dormagen, Germany) finished in sixth place in the men¡¯s saber division. Boghicev went 18-5 and received All-American honors for a second consecutive year. Senior captain Martin Zaguinis (Beaverton, Ore.) finished in 12th place with a record of 11-12.

In the men¡¯s epee division, sophomore Arthur Urman (Maalot, Israel) finished in 11th place with a 12-11 mark. Freshman James Moody (Denver, Colo.) went 7-16, which put him in19th place.

Sophomore Jeffrey Chang (Hong Kong, China) and freshman Alexander Louton (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) both went 9-14 in the men¡¯s foil division and finished in 19th and 20th, respectively.

The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing team sat atop the team standings after women¡¯s action. Penn State senior Katarzyna Trzopek (Warsaw, Poland) won gold in the women¡¯s epee division for the second time in her collegiate career. Trzopek, senior Annekathrin Donath (Tauber, Germany), senior captain Sophia Hiss (Oklahoma City, Okla.), junior Case Szarwark (Nashville, Tenn.) and freshman Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.) all received All-American honors for their top-eight finishes.