In the world of collegiate fencing, having to face Penn State is sort of like having to kiss your relatives -- no one wants to do it, but they have to.

So when Duke, Princeton, Farleigh Dickinson, Cleveland State and North Carolina meet Penn State at 9 a.m. tomorrow in White Building, don't expect any of them to be optimistic about their chances.

"We will be coming up there, I don't think to win because I don't think we can match (Penn State) at all," Duke Coach Alex Beguinet said. "But we will try to get as many (individual) victories as we can."

And Duke and the others will have until Sunday to do it. Going into their only home match of the season, the Lions do not expect to walk all over their opponents. Lion Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said the toughest of the five teams will probably be Princeton.

"They have very good depth at each weapon, and their women's epee team is excellent," he said. "They gave us some problems at regionals last year."

Kaidanov added that the Tigers have very good men's foil and epee squads.

"They are going to give us a hell of a fight," he said.

Penn State's Jason Levin, who will compete in sabre, agrees Princeton will give the Lions a run for the money.

"They're certainly the most balanced team we will face this weekend," he said. "Everyone else has a weak spot or two, but they have all their weapons covered."

Princeton's men's epee squad is spearheaded by Harold Winkmann, the defending national champion in epee. His presence will make the members of Penn State's epee squad even more determined.

"Although, he's a national champion, he is definitely beatable," Lion fencer Greg Gregor said.

As for the other teams, Cleveland State is the newcomer of the group, having started its program just a few years ago. Last year, the Lions did not encounter any problems when they fenced the Vikings. Cleveland State's biggest problem is that it has not been around long enough to build a strong recruiting base, Levin said.

North Carolina and Penn State fenced earlier in the season at Chapel Hill. Penn State easily defeated the Tar Heels, 23-4 (men) and 22-10 (women).