NEW YORK, N.Y., February 22, 2003 ¨C The Penn State fencing teams both went undefeated today at the Columbia University-Barnard College Duals, the final dual meet of the season for the Nittany Lions. The No. 1 Lady Lions logged five more wins to put the finishing touches on its undefeated 18-0 season, while the No. 2 men¡¯s squad posted three wins of its own to close out the season with only one loss at 14-1.

The women¡¯s team began the day with a dominant 21-6 victory over Cornell, Penn State¡¯s only unranked opponent all day. The Lady Lions then went on to top No. 9 Pennsylvania 19-8 before knocking off No. 7 Temple 17-10 in the very next dual. After the first two wins over ranked foes, the road to an unbeaten season only got tougher, as Penn State had to tangle with No. 5 Columbia-Barnard and perennial powerhouse No. 2 St. John¡¯s, who was without one of their top athletes, to close out the day. The Lady Lions lived up to their billing as the No. 1 team in the nation, as they edged out Columbia-Barnard with a close 15-12 victory before finishing with a convincing 19-8 win over the Red Storm.

The women were led in the foil by surprising freshman Annekathrin Donath (Touber, Germany), who has really peaked late in her initial season, and sophomore Meredith Chin (Wynnewood, Pa.). Donath finished with a 12-1 standing for the day, while Chin posted a 12-2 mark. In the women¡¯s saber, senior Austin O¡¯Neill (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) led the pack with a 10-4 record in her last collegiate dual meet. In the women¡¯s epee, outstanding freshman Katarzyna Trzopek (Warsaw, Poland) posted her second consecutive 14-0 dual meet performance. She has now won 38 of her last 39 bouts spanning 15 matches. Senior Jessica Burke (Upper Marlboro, N.J.) was close behind with a 12-2 performance of her own.

The men¡¯s squad crushed No. 5 Penn 24-3 to kick off the day and pick up some momentum for its next two top-ten opponents. The Nittany Lions then recorded a 19-8 victory over No. 7 Columbia in their second dual. Penn State¡¯s final dual of the afternoon came against longtime rival No. 3 St. John¡¯s, but seven of the Red Storm¡¯s best athletes did not compete. The Nittany Lions took advantage of the mismatch, winning 21-6.

In the men¡¯s saber, captain Alex Weber (Frieburg, Germany) completed his individual undefeated season with eight more wins today to finish at 23-0 for the season. Impressive freshman Marten Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) chipped in with an unblemished 7-0 performance of his own. Defending National Champion Nonpatat Panchan (Bangkok, Thailand) posted an 8-1 mark in the men¡¯s foil, while Ian Schlaepfer (Rohnert Park, Calif.) contributed a 7-1 effort. In the men¡¯s epee, Adam Wiercioch (Gliwice, Poland) paced the Lions with an undefeated 7-0 record for the day.

Penn State head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov felt confident in his teams as the regular season came to a close. ¡°We¡¯re in pretty good shape,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°Generally, our kids performed very strongly, especially in the men¡¯s foil. They did a super job.¡±

The Penn State fencers will have a weekend off before traveling to Philadelphia for the Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals on March 8-9. The event will determine which fencers qualify for the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for two weeks after the regionals.