March 14, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In day two of the NCAA Fencing Championships, the Penn State Fencers remained in fifth place, but now dropping to 33 points behind leading Ohio State. Two days of competition still remain, with the #1 ranked men's team beginning action tomorrow.

So far, Ohio State has taken control of the championships, having a women's fencer earning a one seed in each of the three divisions. Penn State did not have any representatives making it to the final four brackets for the divisions. The closest the Nittany Lions came to having representatives in a final four bracket came in the foil and epee division.

In the foil division, junior Allison Glasser (Piedmont, Calif.) finished in fifth place, one place out of making the final four in the division, with a total of 19 victories. For the division of epee, Penn State also had two close finishers. Sophomores Keri Byerts (Webster, N.Y.) and Anastasia Ferdman (Maalot, Israel) finished in fifth and sixth place respectively. Byerts had 16 victories and Ferdman had 15.

In women's saber action, sophomore Jessica Kim-Danh (Land-O'-Lakes, Fla.) finished with eight victories, giving her an 18th place finished in the division. Junior Anne Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished in 14th place with 10 victories in the foil division as well.

Tomorrow, men's competition will begin with round robin rounds 1-4 beginning at 10 a.m. The two-day men's competition will end on Sunday, with the national champion also being crowned on Sunday.

Penn State is looking to win their 11th championship, and its second consecutive crown after claiming last season's title. The championships will be taped, and highlights from the championship can be seen on Saturday May 3, at 1 p.m. on CBS.