This weekend, men's fencers Andy Gearhart, Jeff Feinblatt, Dean Jacobberger and Wes Waldron will travel to San Francisco for the North American Cup trials for juniors and seniors.

Key stats: Feinblatt, Jacobberger and Waldron are all California residents and have spent the week at home. Gearhart is the only member of the team traveling from State College because of the expense of the trip and the tournament.

Preview: This is the third stop in the year-long NAC tournaments, where fencers' results determine their placement on a variety of national and international teams. Gearhart is still in the hunt for a spot on the World University Games team.

Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov says: "This is a very expensive tournament and I wish we had more money and could send more fencers. Unfortuntely with our funding that's just not possible."

The Nittany Lions (2-1) will meet Virginia (4-4) at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Charlottsville, Va.

Key stats: The Lions pulled off a close win last year with a score of 126-117. Virginia competed at Florida State on Wednesday, losing to the Seminoles 138-99.

Injuries: Penn State has no major injuries to report.

Preview: The Lions are fresh off a second-place finish at the Gold Country Invitational in Minneapolis. Alex Cunha won the 200 and 400 individual medley races and was a member of the winning 200 medley team. The Lions defeated the Cavaliers last season at home 126-117.

Coach Peter Brown says: "(The Cavaliers) are strong where we are strong. They have a solid lineup without a doubt. They will definitely be a stiff challenge."

No. 23 Penn State (5-1, 4-1 Big Ten) vs. unranked Virginia (8-0, 3-0 ACC) at noon tomorrow in Charlottesville, Va.

Key stats: Lady Lion junior Lisa Pastrana set a new pool record in the 200-yard backstroke last weekend at Ohio State. Freshman Carmen Kondra won the 50 and 100 freestyle events and took second in the 200 free against the Buckeyes. Cavalier junior freestyler Holly Kleiderlein won the 50 and 100 freestyle events in each of Virginia's first seven meets of the year. Her only loss in those events this year occurred Wednesday in Virginia's 130-113 victory over Florida State; she won the 100 free, but finished second in the 50.

Injuries: Due to recurring back problems, Penn State will be without sophomore breaststroker Julie Krail for the remainder of the season. Virginia reported no significant injuries.

Preview: Last season, Penn State defeated Virginia 173-127 in McCoy Natatorium. However, Virginia still leads the all-time series, 7-6. Penn State has had a full week to prepare for the Cavaliers. This dual meet is the second of four non-conference meets of the season for the Lady Lions. They defeated St. Bonaventure last November, face Pitt in two weeks and Villanova in a month. The two squads share a common opponent this season -- the Lady Lions bested Ohio State 172-128 and Virginia beat the Buckeyes 136-107.

Coach Bob Krimmel says: "We're hoping to step it up a notch this weekend. Virginia is far superior to Ohio State . . . We'll be facing a pretty rested Virginia team, which gives them an advantage. It should be one of the best meets of the season, because these teams match up very well."

Virginia Coach Mark Bernardino could not be reached for comment.

Penn State will battle St. Joseph's, Columbia and host Bucknell at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

Key stats: The Lions return several top performers from last year, including captains Bob Hamer, Jake Bartholomy and Mark Crawford.

Injuries: No major injuries to report.

Preview: The Lions begin the indoor season with their only unlimited meet of the season. Coach Harry Groves said the meet will help him decide the makeup of the team, which is using the meet as a warm-up for the rest of the season. The Lions meet their first Big Ten competition at home next Saturday against Michigan and Michigan State.

Coach Groves says: "Bucknell, Columbia and St. Joseph's are good competition. If one doesn't have it, the others will and we'll get cut down."

The women's track team will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., tomorrow to open its season against Georgetown, Syracuse, Colgate and host Cornell in the Cornell Invitational.

Key stats: Shot putters Kim Hicks and Holly Jones posted personal bests in an intrasquad meet last Saturday, with scores of 47 feet-1 inch and 44 feet-5 inches, respectively. In the same meet, Erin St. John recorded a personal best in the mile (4:54.00).

Injuries: Freshman Erica Bosler is questionable after an appendectomy.

Preview: The Lady Lions will use tomorrow's meet to test where they stand. Coach Teri Jordan does not have many expectations for the team at this meet. She said the team is not where she expected it would be at this point and she is looking for improvement. The Lady Lions are lacking a bit due to a number of illnesses and injuries but will look for key performances from Hicks, Johns, and St. John as well as captain Sue Huelster.

Coach Jordan says: "This is the first meet of the season. We want to see where we are."

The Lions, recovering from a five-game loss to Canadian national champion Laval, take on a team of alumni players at 3 p.m. tomorrow in gym two of the Intramural Building. The preseason contest will be the team's final exhibition before opening the regular season against UCLA on Jan. 25 in the Hawaii Collegiate Classic.

Injuries: Middle blocker Adam Fernsler, recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, will not play tomorrow. Fernsler will meet with a doctor on Monday to determine his status for the season.

Setter Carlos Ortiz appears to have recovered from his bout with "something similar to the flu" and will play tomorrow. Ortiz saw limited action against Laval on Tuesday but contributed a game-high 69 assists and three service aces against Laval on Wednesday.

Preview: Byron Schneider, whose cross-court kill clinched the national championship for the Nittany Lions last year, returns to play on the alumni team.

Coach Mark Pavlik says: "This is more important in the sense of tradition, getting back to the roots of the program, than it is an exhibition. We want our current players to know that it was (the alumni's) labor of love that turned Penn State volleyball into a national championship team."