University Park, Pa . — Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov and the 12 members of the Penn State men's and women's fencing teams are not headed far from home for the 2009 NCAA Fencing Championships, hosted at University Park this upcoming weekend. The teams will be competing for their 11th national crown. The four day event runs Thursday-Sunday, March 19-22. Penn State is sending the maximum of 12 participants who will fence in a pool of 145 competitors.
Freshman Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.), who took first at the 2009 Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals, will be leading men's foil. Chamley-Watson is 24-2 this year. Joining Chamley-Watson in foil is junior Nick Chinman (Boulder, Colo.). Chinman is 16-6 on the year and finished third at regionals.
In men's epee, senior captain James Moody (Denver, Colo.) has a record of 17-13 on the year and finished second at regionals. This will be Moody's third trip to nationals. Junior Maxwell Dettlinger (Louisville, Ky.) finished right behind teammate Moody at regionals, in third place. He brings with him a record of 19-12 this year. This is his first trip to nationals.
Junior Daniel Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) on his second trip to nationals, will be representing the Nittany Lion men in the sabre division. He has a record of 21-4 this year and finished second at regionals. He is seeking to accomplish more than his third place finish from last year. Joining him will be freshman Aleksander Ochocki (Clark, N.J.). At regionals, Ochocki finished right behind teammate Bak in third. He is bringing a record of 29-8 to nationals.
On the women's side, leading the charge will be red shirt sophomore Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.). Willette had a fantastic season with a record of 28-4. She finished first at regionals. Joining her in women's foil is senior captain Allison Glasser (Piedmont, Calif.). She finished third at regionals and has a record of 25-9 this year.
In sabre, the women will be well represented by red shirt junior Caitlin Thompson (Portland, Ore.). This will be her third trip to the NCAA Fencing Championships. Thompson is a two time All-American and finished second at nationals two years ago. She brings with her a record of 26-5 this year with a first place finish at regionals. Freshman Monica Aksamit (Matawan, N.J.) also qualified for nationals. She finished third at regionals and has a record of 25-2 this year.
Junior Anastasia Ferdman (Maalot, Israel) will be leading the women's side in epee. She finished the season 31-4 with a first place finish at regionals. Joining her will be freshman Nina Westman (Kalmar, Sweden). This year, Westman had a record of 28-5 and a second place finish at regionals.
Penn State is looking to bring home their eleventh national title after finishing fourth at last year's NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions have won ten national titles under Kaidanov. In the 2009 USFCA College Fencing Coaches' Poll, both the men's and women's teams were ranked second.
Following is the schedule of events for the four day Championship.
Thursday, March 19
10 a.m. Men's Epee, rounds 1-4 Men's Foil, rounds 1-4 Men's Sabre, rounds 1-4
Friday, March 20
9:30 a.m. Men's Epee, rounds 5-7 Men's Foil, rounds 5-7 Men's Sabre, rounds 5-7
2 p.m. Men's Gold Medal Bouts
Saturday, March 21
9:40 a.m. Women's Foil, round 1 - Pool 4
10 a.m. Women's Epee, rounds 1-4 Women's Foil, rounds 1-4 - remaining pools Women's Sabre, rounds 1-4
Sunday, March 22
8:30 a.m. Women's Foil, rounds 5-7
9:30 a.m. Women's Epee, rounds 5-7 Women's Sabre, rounds 5-7
2 p.m. Women's Gold Medal Bouts