State College, Pa. - October 27, 2005 - The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams will now have the services of one of the United States Olympic Committee's best coaches as Victor Svatenko has joined the Nittany Lion staff as an assistant coach.

Svatenko joins head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov and current assistants Wes Glon and David Ling, rounding out the staff of two of Penn State's most successful programs. The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams have combined to win nine NCAA national titles in the past 15 years.

Svatenko brings a distinguished background in fencing and modern pentathlon to Penn State. A graduate of the University of Physical Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Svatenko became the head fencing coach of the Republic of Kazakhstan's national team, serving in this position from 1977 through 1985. He coached elite athletes in foil and epee.

In 1982, the former U.S.S.R. Olympic Committee named him the Fencing Coach of the Year for the Republic of Kazakhstan. Later, he became the Assistant Director of Sports Science for Kazakhstan and then the Director/Chief Administrator of the Sports Training Center for Elite Athletes.

Svatenko came to the United States in 1990 and quickly established himself with the USOC, becoming the head fencing coach of the United States' national modern pentathlon team. He was a four-time Olympics coach and coached several teams in World Championships.

During his tenure as fencing coach with the USOC, his athletes claimed a silver medal at the Olympics and three gold, one silver, and a bronze medal at the World Championships. He also coached athletes to four gold medals at the Pan American games. From 1998 through 2001, he was named the USOC's National Coach of the Year in Modern Pentathlon. From 2002 through 2004, he was the USOC's Developmental Coach of the year.

Penn State continues fencing action on Nov. 5-6 at the Temple Open in Philadelphia.