WALTHAM, Mass., March 28, 2004 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing teams combined to take second place honors at the 2004 Men¡¯s and Women¡¯s National Collegiate Fencing Championships, which concluded today at Brandeis University¡¯s Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

The Nittany Lion men¡¯s squad scored 33 points during the final three rounds of its round robin tournament today to overtake Notre Dame for second place in the race for the Combined National Championship. Penn State finished the Championships with 160 total points, with the women¡¯s squad recording 84 points over the first two days of action and the men¡¯s team posting 76 over the final two days.

Ohio State pulled away from the field to win the Combined National Championship with 194 total points. The Nittany Lions outscored defending National Champion Notre Dame by 12 points during the final day to steal second place and knock the Fighting Irish into third place with 153 points. St. John¡¯s used a very impressive performance in the men¡¯s round robin tournament to move into fourth place with 149 points. Columbia-Barnard rounded out the top five with 146 total points.

The Penn State men¡¯s team, ranked fourth going into the Championships, finished fourth in its round robin tournament. St. John¡¯s claimed the top spot in the men¡¯s event with 109 points, while Ohio State finished second with 97 points. Columbia took third place with 86 points in the tournament.

Marten Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) posted the best individual performance for the men¡¯s team. The sophomore All-American won eight of his 10 bouts in the final three rounds to move up from fifth place to fourth place and earn a trip to the men¡¯s saber semifinals. In his semifinal bout, he fell to eventual National Champion Adam Crompton of Ohio State by a score of 15-10. Zagunis then suffered a 15-6 loss to Benjamin Igoe of Rutgers in the Bronze Medal bout. Zagunis completed the Championships with 18 wins and a +32 scoring margin.

Sensational freshman Ian Farr (Portland, Ore.) earned All-American honors and just missed a trip to the men¡¯s saber semifinals with a fifth-place finish. He won eight of his 10 bouts in the final three rounds to make a late charge from seventh place to fifth. Farr finished his first Championships with 17 victories and a +26 scoring margin. On the strength of the performances of Zagunis and Farr, Penn State scored 35 of a possible 46 points in the men¡¯s saber.

In the men¡¯s epee, Adam Wiercioch (Gliwice, Poland) distinguished himself as a four-time All-American with a fifth-place showing. He won seven of his final 10 bouts to hold onto the fifth-place standing he claimed after the first four rounds of action. Wiercioch finished the tournament with 16 wins and a +30 scoring margin. Sophomore Alexander Bruscke (North Caldwell, N.J.) gained valuable experience in his first Championships, posting three wins in the men¡¯s epee. Arpard Horvath of St. John¡¯s claimed the men¡¯s epee National Title.

Junior Ian Schlaepfer (Rohnert Park, Calif.) became a two-time All-American with a seventh-place finish in the men¡¯s foil. Schlaepfer, a 2002 All-American as well, won five of his last 10 bouts to maintain his seventh-place standing. He finished with 14 wins and a +15 scoring margin. Fellow junior Jake Clark (Waukesha, Wis.) took 18th place in his first Championships. He won four of his last 10 bouts to finish with 8 victories in the men¡¯s foil. Ohio State¡¯s Boaz Ellis won the men¡¯s foil National Title.

Penn State head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov was pleased with his team¡¯s finish at the Championships. ¡°A second-place finish is probably the best one could expect under the circumstances,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°It is a good result to be second in the nation. Overall, it was a good performance.¡±

Overall, Penn State completed the 2004 Championships with one Silver Medalist, eight All-Americans, and one Honorable Mention. With the second-place finish, the Nittany Lions have still not finished below second place since the Combined National Championship format was introduced in 1990. Since then, Penn State has won the Combined National Championship nine times and finished second six times. The Nittany Lions have taken second place the last two years.