State College, Pa. - April 19, 2002 - Sophomore Nonpatat Panchan (Bangkok, Thailand) and senior Stephanie Eim (Hendersonville, Tenn.) were named the Most Valuable Fencers at this year's annual Penn State Fencing Awards Banquet.

Panchan earned the NCAA individual championship in the men's foil this season, grabbing the title as he helped guide Penn State to the 2002 NCAA National Fencing Championships team crown. Panchan wend 35-5 during the dual match season this year and won the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional crown as well. This marks Panchan's second straight All-American performance as he won the laurels last season as a freshman.

Eim, a senior co-captain on this year's team, earned her fourth straight All-American honor this season, finishing as national runner-up in the women's epee. She went 41-1 in duals this season and placed third at the Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals. During her career at Penn State, Eim was national runner-up twice and a bronze medalist once.

Sophomore Meredith Steyer (Topsfield, Mass.) and freshman Jacob Clark (Waukesha, Wisc.) were named Most Improved Fencers. Steyer, who saw spot action last year, went 35-8 this season as a starter and was an alternate qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the women's saber. Clark, a freshman, began the season in steady fashion and then improved to post a final dual match mark of 21-13 in the men's foil.

Head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov named Jessica Clark (Springfield, Pa.) and Alexander Weber (Frieburg, Germany) as captains for the 2002-03 season. Clark, who will be a senior next season, went 15-5 in the women's saber this year and placed eighth at regionals. Weber, who will be a junior, earned All-American honors this season by finishing fourth at nationals. He was 20-1 in duals and won the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional crown.

Penn State won its ninth national title this year and its seven in the last eight seasons. The men's and women's teams combined to 33-1 record in duals and, in the process, earned coach Kaidanov his 500th career win.