WALTHAM, Mass., March 26, 2004 ¨C The Penn State women¡¯s fencing team, ranked third in the nation going into this weekend, claimed third place today in the conclusion of the women¡¯s portion of the 2004 Men¡¯s and Women¡¯s National Collegiate Fencing Championships at Brandeis University¡¯s Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

The Nittany Lion women¡¯s squad finished with 84 points to earn third place behind first-place Ohio State and runner-up Notre Dame, who finished with 97 and 96 points, respectively. Penn State finished soundly ahead of fourth-place Penn, who posted 68 points over the two days and seven rounds of round-robin action.

Freshman sensation Sophia Hiss (Oklahoma City, Okla.) made a late surge to claim the Silver Medal in the women¡¯s saber. Hiss began the day in fifth place with nine wins after a solid first-day showing. She was nearly flawless in today¡¯s action, winning nine of her 10 bouts to move into fourth place and earn a spot in the semifinals. In the semifinals, she upset first-place Emma Baratta of Columbia-Barnard by a tight 15-13 margin. In the Gold Medal Bout, she fell, 15-8, to Notre Dame¡¯s Valerie Providenza, who finished the round robin in third place. Hiss¡¯s impressive performance is even more remarkable considering she switched from the foil, her preferred weapon, to the saber midseason to bolster a women¡¯s saber squad hurt by injuries.

Veteran Heather Brosnan (Portland, Ore.) became a rare four-time All-American with an eighth-place finish in the women¡¯s saber. She notched seven wins in her final 10 bouts to move up from ninth place into All-American standing. She completed the Championships with 14 wins in 23 bouts and a +10 scoring margin. Brosnan¡¯s finish is also noteworthy because she spent most of the year hampered by injury, competing sparingly during the dual meet season.

In the women¡¯s epee, sophomore Katarzyna Trzopek (Warsaw, Poland) fell short in her bid to repeat as National Champion. She did, however, earn All-American honors with a solid sixth-place finish in the very competitive epee bracket. She started the day in eighth place with nine wins, but she won five more bouts and increased her scoring margin from +11 to +14 today to advance two spots. Freshman Case Szarwark (Nashville, Tenn.) finished in 18th place with nine victories in the women¡¯s epee round robin. Anna Garina of Wayne State claimed the individual National Championship in the epee.

Sophomore Annekathrin Donath (Touber, Germany) earned All-American honors for the second consecutive year with a seventh-place performance in the women¡¯s foil. She moved up two positions through the course of the day by winning seven of her 10 bouts. She finished with 15 wins in 23 bouts and a +28 scoring margin. Co-captain Meredith Chin (Wynnewood, Pa.) earned Honorable Mention honors for the second time in her career with a ninth-place finish in the women¡¯s foil. She came up just one win short of All-American standing after posting 14 wins and a +15 scoring margin. Alicja Kryczalo of Notre Dame took home the National Championships in the foil.

Penn State head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov was extremely pleased with Hiss¡¯s astounding performance. ¡°Hiss was sensational,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°Her finish was a tremendous success. She has been the inspiration for the team so far.¡±

Kaidanov was also relatively happy with Penn State¡¯s position going into the men¡¯s tournament. ¡°Overall, we are solidly in third place,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°It would be extremely difficult for anyone to get close to us, but it will also be difficult for us to get higher.¡±

The fourth-ranked Nittany Lion men¡¯s team will take to the strips tomorrow at noon for the first four rounds of their portion of the Championships. Penn State will try to chip away at Ohio State¡¯s 13-point lead in an attempt to reclaim the Combined National Championship.

For complete results, please visit http://www.brandeis.edu/ncaafencing/.