State College, Pa. - October 17, 2005 - Penn State Nittany Lion women's fencer Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.) helped the United States women's saber team earn a Gold medal on the final day of the 2005 World Championships in Leipzig, Germany over the weekend.

The team of Thompson (18), Sada Jacobson (22, Dunwoody, Ga.), Rebecca Ward (15, Portland, Ore.) and Mariel Zagunis (20, Beaverton, Ore.) dominated the field. No team scored more than 38 (of a possible 45) touches on the U.S. women during the entire competition.

The team's march to the top started with victories over Great Britain (45-38), France (45-32) and Hungary (45-27). For the grand finale the team defeated Russia 45-36 -- a team that has often given the U.S. women trouble, and which defeated the U.S. for last year's Championship title.

This is the first medal for the U.S. at the Championships. It is the second time the U.S. women's saber team earned the team title. The first time was in 2000. This is also only the second ever senior World Championship fencing title for a U.S. team.

Thompson will be a freshman this season for head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov and his Penn State fencers. The Nittany Lions open up their season on Oct. 22-23 by hosting the Garret Penn State Open.

2005 World Championships of Fencing
Leipzig, Germany, Oct. 8-15
Women's Saber
17 teams
1. U.S.A.:
Sada Jacobson (22, Dunwoody, Ga./Nellya)
Caitlin Thompson (18, Portland, Ore. Oregon Fenc. Alliance/Penn State '08)
Rebecca Ward (15, Portland, Ore. /Oregon Fenc. Alliance)
Mariel Zagunis (20, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fenc. Alliance)
2. Russia
3. Hungary
4. Poland