The Penn State fencing team returned from the NCAA championship tournament not only with a second place finish, but also with seven All-Americans.

Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said the fencers who received this honor possess certain characteristics which helped them attain their level of success.

"Dilligence, desire, and a competitive spirit throughout the season helped them to receive the All-American status," he said. "Even in practice, they were always ready to compete."

This year, men's foil produced second team All-Americans Murat Yorukoglu and Andy Gearhart, while men's sabre contributed Ali Rezazadeh to the second team.

Thomas Strzalkowski, who won this year's national championship in men's sabre, received first team honors along with Vitali Nazlimov, who was the national champion last year.

In women's foil, senior captain Katie Kowalski captured second team honors while Susie Paxton and national champion Olga Chernyak received first team honors.

Kaidanov said talent such as this was acquired through recruiting, as well as the fencing program's popularity.

"Because our program is strong, kids come here to fence from all over," he said. "There is so much diversity on the team, and that's what makes it fun."

Members of the team come from all over the world, for example Chernyak, who was born in the Ukraine and currently lives in San Francisco. "I came here mainly because of Coach Kaidanov. He did a lot for me, including helping me to mature and understand the sport better," Chernyak said.

Other fencers also come from abroad, including Nazlimov, who is originally from Moscow. Many team members are from different areas of the United States. Kowalski is from Houston, Texas, and Strzalkowski is from Richmond, Va.

Strzalkowski decided to come to Penn State because of Assistant Coach Wes Glon, who got him started on fencing in Virginia.

Kaidanov believes that Strzalkowski's performance at NCAAs was one of the most impressive, since he was able to defeat his teammate, Nazlimov, in the finals.

"Tom was always in Vitali's shadow, who won the tournaments all the time," Kaidanov said. "This was the first time they met in the finals, and Tom finally won."

Kaidanov attributes certain qualities to Strzalkowski's success.

"He is always determined to win and has a lot of confidence," he said. "He trains in a strong environment, since our sabre squad is the strongest in the country."

Strzalkowski, who was twice junior world champion for the United States team, feels that hard work helped him gain the national championship.

"I practice three or four hours a day and work very hard," he said. "In the finals, I put everything together and refused to give up."

Chernyak is another fierce competitor with the will to win.

"She is a champion by nature, who won't allow herself to get beat," Kaidanov said. "She is very intelligent and has a lot of fighting spirit."

As a freshman, Chernyak was a first team All-America selection in women's foil, and attributes much of her success to Kaidanov.

"Coach helps me with the bouts and assists me in developing my tactics," she said.

Kaidanov said there have only been two years since he began coaching in 1982 when the fencing team went without medals in the NCAA Tournament.