MADISON, N.J.; March 22, 2007 - At the end of day one and four rounds of competition at the NCAA Fencing Championships at Drew University, the Penn State fencing teams are keeping their hunt for a 10th national title alive and strong. They are tied with the University of Notre Dame for third place and are only four points off the pace set by leader Columbia University at 56.

Freshman Nicholas Chinman (Boulder, Colo.) is leading the charge with a bout record of 11-3 in foil. He is currently fourth in men's foil standings. Junior foilist Jeffrey Chang (Hong Kong, China) finished the day with a bout record of 7-7.

On his third trip to nationals, junior Franz Boghicev (Dormagen, Germany) finished the day 9-5. Boghicev is ninth in the men's saber standings. Not far behind him in men's saber is senior Ian Farr (Portland, Ore.) who is in 11th place. His bout record at the end of day one is also 9-5.

In men's epee, freshman Steffan Launer (Neuweiler, Germany) finished day one with a bout record of 9-5, putting him in fifth place. Junior captain Arthur Urman (Maalot, Israel) finished 14th in the standings and had a bout record of 7-7.

NCAA Fencing Championship action continues tomorrow with the final four men's rounds and the men's gold medal bouts. For more information on results, check out www.ncaasports.com/fencing.

 Top 10 Teams (After round 4) Place School Total 1. Columbia/Barnard 56 2. St. John's University 54 3. T Notre Dame 52 3. T Penn State University 52 5. Ohio State University 48 6. University of Pennsylvania 38 7. Harvard University 36 8. T Rutgers University 26 8. T Stanford University 26 10. Wayne State University 20