PHILADELPHIA, Pa., November 2, 2003 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s fencing team recorded a strong performance today in second day action at the 24th Annual Temple Open at the McGonigle Arena. The Nittany Lions earned one title and four top-five finishes on the day.

Penn State used the tournament as an opportunity to look at its younger fencers and begin to put together this year¡¯s varsity squad. The young Lions looked very strong and picked up valuable experience going into the dual meet season.

Freshman Ian Farr (Portland, Ore.) continued to fence brilliantly, winning the men¡¯s saber title in dominant fashion. The prodigy has now won three titles in as many events in his debut season. At the recent 22nd Annual Penn State Junior Championship/Nittany Lion Cup Open, Farr won both the junior and open men¡¯s saber titles. Sophomore Layne Vashro (Minneapolis, Minn.) posted the second-best performance for Penn State in the men¡¯s saber with a fifth-place finish.

In the men¡¯s epee, junior Ryan Wangner (Garden City, N.Y.) recorded a fifth-place finish to lead the Nittany Lions in the weapon. Alexander Bruscke (North Caldwell, N.J.) fell just short of the top eight and finished in 16th place.

Junior Jacob Clark (Waukesha, Wis.) garnered fifth-place honors in the men¡¯s foil, and freshman Ian Hamilton (New York, N.Y.) was close behind with an eighth-place performance. Senior Joe Brown (Herndon, Va.) put together an 11th-place effort in the weapon.

Penn State assistant coach Wes Glon was very pleased the performance of his young talent. ¡°I thought it was a very strong showing for us,¡± said Glon. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re on the right track going into the season.¡±

The men¡¯s and women¡¯s fencing teams will next compete in the Junior World Cup, which is set for Nov. 7-9 in Louisville.