MADISON, N.J., March 22, 2002 ¨C The No. 2 Penn State women¡¯s fencing team finished with 94 points to earn third place honors today in the team competition at the NCAA Fencing Championships at Drew University. St. John¡¯s, the top-ranked team in the nation and the defending National Champions, registered 100 points to claim first place and edge out No. 3 Notre Dame, who finished in second place with 97 points.

After yesterday¡¯s action, the Lady Lions found themselves in third place with 53 points, looking to make a move today. They were unable to close the deficit in the final three rounds of the round-robin tournament, however, as they remained close behind in third place. Penn State finished well in front of fourth place Ohio State, who earned 79 points in the two-day event.

In the individual portion of the Championships, star senior captain Stephanie Eim (Hendersonville, Tenn.) won the Silver Medal in the women¡¯s epee. Remarkably, this marked her fourth consecutive Medalist finish at the NCAA Championships and her second Silver Medal. After storming through the round-robin tournament with a perfect 23-0 record, Eim recorded a 15-9 victory over Kate Rudkin of Northwestern, the eventual Bronze Medalist, to earn a chance to duel for the National Championship. In the final bout, the exhausted Eim fell 15-12 in a heart-breaking battle with Kerry Walton of Notre Dame.

The Lady Lions finished as the best epee team in the nation with 39 total points, as the 2000 National Champion Jessica Burke (Upper Marlboro, N.J.) also performed very well in the round-robin. Burke narrowly missed a trip to the semifinals, as she finished just out of the mix in fifth place with a 16-7 record, after going 7-2 in today¡¯s bouts. Her top-eight finish earned her the status of All-American for the second time in her career.

In the women¡¯s saber, Penn State used a strong second day of fencing to finish in third place, as sophomore Heather Brosnan (Portland, Ore.) and veteran senior Stephanie Tam (Coram, N.Y.) combined for 29 points. Like Burke, Brosnan also came up just short of a semifinal appearance, despite a late rally. She climbed all the way from 11th place at yesterday¡¯s conclusion to finish in sixth place, claiming All-American status for the second consecutive year. She wound up with a record of 16-7 after losing only one bout in her impressive stretch run today. Tam went 6-3 in today¡¯s action to finish with a 13-10 mark, moving from 13th place to ninth place. With her top-twelve performance, Tam earned Honorable Mention All-American status. Sada Jacobson of Yale claimed the National Championship.

Penn State claimed fourth place in the women¡¯s foil after the youthful duo of sophomore Marta Grochal (Poznan, Poland) and freshman Meredith Chin (Wynnewood, Pa.) teamed up for 26 points. Grochal finished in ninth place with a 14-9 standing after going 6-3 today. Chin was not far behind in 12th place after she won five of her nine bouts today to reach a record of 12-11. The top-twelve finishes by both players allowed them to claim Honorable Mention All-American status. Alicja Kryzcalo of Notre Dame captured the National Championship in the women¡¯s foil.

Longtime Penn State head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov had nothing but praise for Eim at the day¡¯s conclusion. He was especially impressed by her undefeated record in the grueling round-robin tournament, which is the source of the team points. ¡°She brought 100% of her possible victories to the team, which is unbelievable,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°She¡¯s the team captain and she gave everything she had for the team. She performed flawlessly.¡±

The NCAA Championships will continue tomorrow with the opening day of the men¡¯s portion of the event. Penn State is still very much in the hunt for a combined national championship, as the No. 2 Nittany Lions will look to cut into the current deficit. Fencing is scheduled to begin at noon.