PALO ALTO, Calif., March 26, 2000 -- The Penn State fencing team began the new decade the way it started the last one - by winning the National Championship. The Lions held off St. John's and Notre Dame Sunday to earn their sixth consecutive NCAA Title.

Penn State finished with a team score of 175 points, edging Notre Dame and St. John's, who were tied for second place with 171 points. Stanford, host of the four-day competition, placed fourth with 163 points and Princeton took fifth with 133 points. The four-point margin of victory for Penn State is the closest since 1998, when the Lions defeated the Fighting Irish, 149-147.

The Penn State fencing team, coached byEmmanuil Kaidanov, has won eight of 11 NCAA Fencing Championships since 1990, the year the NCAA began combining men's and women's scores. The Lions won the title in 1990 and 1991, and have won every championship since 1995.

The National Championship is the University's 44th overall and the second of the 1999-2000 season. In December, the women's volleyball team won its first ever National Title in its third consecutive Final Four appearance.

On Sunday, Sophomore Daniel Landgren (Bjuv, Sweden) won Penn State's second individual title of the NCAA Finals. Landgren won the men's epee competition by beating a pair of Red Storm fencers in the medal rounds. He beat Doron Levit 15-11 in the semifinals, then beat Alex Roytblat 15-12 in the finals to become Penn State's 11th all-time individual champion.

Senior men's captain Gang Lu (Hackensack, N.J.) earned his fourth consecutive All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in men's foil. Lu won 16 bouts in round-robin competition before falling twice in the medal rounds.

Junior Aaron Stuewe (Rochester, N.Y.) earned a spot on the All-America team for the third straight year after an eighth-place finish in men's saber. Stuewe won 15 bouts on the tournament.

Also picking up valuable points for Penn State in men's competition were senior Donald McGill (Los Angeles, Calif.), junior Brendan Baby (Wilmette, Ill.) and sophomore Michael Stahlhut (Peachtree, Ga.). McGill won 13 bouts in foil, Baby won seven in epee, and Stahlhut won five in saber in his first NCAA appearance.

The Penn State women's team fenced Thursday and Friday and was able to give the Lions a 23-point lead over St. John's heading into the weekend.

Freshman Jessica Burke (Upper Marlboro, Md.) highlighted the Lady Lions' showing by winning the individual epee championship. Burke, like Landgren, topped two St. John's fencers in the medal rounds to win the title. Sophomore Stephanie Eim (Hendersonville, Tenn.) finished third in women's epee, earning All-America honors for the second straight year.

Senior women's captain Carla Esteva (Mexico City, Mexico) and junior Charlotte Walker (Victoria, Australia) both earned All-America honors by advancing to the medal rounds. Esteva closed out her Penn State career with her fourth straight All-America selection and Walker earned her third All-America distinction.

Women's saber, contested for the first time at this year's event, had two solid showings by Penn State fencers. Sophomore Stephanie Tam (Coram, N.Y.) placed sixth and fellow sophomore Austin O'Neill (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) was 11th.

 FINAL TEAM SCORES (TOP-10 ONLY) 1. Penn State 175 2. Notre Dame 171 St. John's 171 4. Stanford 163 5. Princeton 133 6. Columbia 109 7. Yale 101 8. Pennsylvania 79 9. Northwestern 69 10. Rutgers 53 PENN STATE RESULTS Name Year Event Wins Place Medal Rounds Jessica Burke Fr. Women's Epee 18 1st Semifinals: beat Arlene Stevens (St. John's) 15-14 Finals: beat Emese Takacs (St. John's) 15-13 Daniel Landgren So. Men's Epee 18 1st Semifinals: beat Doron Levit (St. John's) 15-11 Finals: beat Alex Roytblat (St. John's) 15-12 Stephanie Eim So. Women's Epee 19 3rd Semifinals: lost to Emese Takacs (St. John's) 15-6 3rd Place: Beat Arlene Stevens (St. John's) 15-6 Carla Esteva Sr. Women's Foil 16 3rd Semifinals: lost to Monique de Bruin (Stanford) 15-8 3rd Place: Beat Charlotte Walker (Penn State) 15-10 Gang Lu Sr. Men's Foil 16 4th Semifinals: lost to Felix Reichling (Stanford) 15-9 3rd Place: lost to Ayo Griffin (Yale) 15-7 Charlotte Walker Jr. Women's Foil 20 4th Semifinals: lost to Eva Petschnigg (Princeton) 15-14 3rd Place: lost to Carla Esteva (Penn State) 15-10 Stephanie Tam So. Women's Saber 16 6th Aaron Stuewe Jr. Men's Saber 15 8th Donald McGill Sr. Men's Foil 13 11th Austin O'Neill So. Women's Saber 12 11th Michael Stahlhut So. Men's Saber 5 20th Brendan Baby Jr. Men's Epee 7 22nd TEAM: 175 1st