Every sports team has its starters. And every sports team has reserves -- the unheralded athletes who back them up.

Freshman fencer Gery Veneziano of the Lions' sabre squad was one of those reserves -- until Saturday, when the Lions took on North Carolina, Duke, Princeton and Cleveland State in White Building.

Overall, the men won handily, while the Lady Lions beat all but North Carolina. The Lions defeated UNC 20-7, Duke 21-6, Cleveland State 20-7 and Princeton 19-8. The last score was a surprising one, as Princeton was expected to give the Lions a challenge.

Veneziano said he was thrust into the spotlight when the Penn State coaching staff decided to give him some valuable experience. Instead of letting his nerves get the best of him, the High Bridge, N.J., native calmly stepped up and helped the men's team defeat all four of its opponents. Veneziano had two wins and one loss.

"It was an incredible feeling, and I have to admit I was a little nervous at first, and I'm happy with my first collegiate match," he said.

Another Lion freshman to step up was sabre fencer James Mahen. He got the start when the coaches decided to rest regular starter Serge Lilov after the Lions built a comfortable lead.

Teammate Jason Levin had nothing but praise for Mahen.

"He stepped up his performance and did a good job in taking the place of Serge," he said.

Individually, Andy Gearhart and Levin handed in the outstanding performances of the day, each going 12-0. For Gearhart, it was redemption from several poor performances in the previous weeks. past few tournaments, I haven't felt too good about how I was doing," he said. "But (Saturday), everything clicked and I felt good about how I did."

For Levin, the unblemished record held extra meaning. Before the meet, he and his roommate -- current Coaching Assistant Thomas Strzalkowski -- made a bet to motivate Levin: If Levin went undefeated, then Strzalkowski would clean part of their apartment.

"I'm really happy I won because it felt good to win, and it means that Thomas will be doing something like scrubbing our bathroom," Levin said.

On the women's side, the Lady Lions were surprised by UNC in an 18-14 loss. They were affected by the 11-5 loss by the epee squad. But Penn State managed to beat Duke, Cleveland State and Princeton by identical 26-6 scores.

This was the second time in a row the Tar Heels had the women epee fencers number.

Earlier this season in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels beat Penn State in women's epee competition. Lady Lion Cecilia Youngblood said she was confused about the Lady Lions' problems with North Carolina, but many of the problems stemmed from a combination of overconfidence, nerves, sickness and injuries.

"We went into the match a little overconfident because the scores of our other matches were so great," Youngblood said. "Then, we let the idea that they could beat us get in to our heads and it killed us."

Another factor in the epee team's loss was that several of the members were either sick or injured. Youngblood had the flu all last week and Polo Wagner was fighting tendonitis in her ankle.

The injuries were a factor because the Lady Lions fenced the Tar Heels last in the day. Many of the members were tired and sore, Youngblood said. Even though they tried to fence through the discomfort, it was tough, and that showed in the final results, she added.

Youngblood said the team as a whole did a very good job.

"Overall, we showed good poise and we kept moving forward," she said. "We'll be ready for Yale next week and Columbia the week after that."