Lady fencers eyeing NCAA championship

By DON WAGNER
Collegian Sports Writer

If the women's competition at the NCAA fencing championships in South Bend, Ind. is any indication, the Penn State fencers are well on their way to an NCAA title.

Led by foil fencer Olga Kalinovskaya's 23-0 record and third-straight NCAA individual title, the women had three of their four fencers make it to the finals. Of those, two gained All-America honors.

The finishes of the three women in the finals put the Lions in first place in the team competiton with 168 points. They are slightly ahead of Princeton and defending champion Notre Dame, both of whom are tied for second with 140 points, and Yale who is in fifth with 138 points.

Placing for the Lions in foil were junior Kalinovskaya and sophomore Sibyl Goldstein, who finished 10th.

For Kalinovskaya the title was the culmination of a great regular season and tournament. After a valiant season, she marched into South Bend and beat everyone she faced for her third-straight title. However, she knew she would meet some tough competition from Notre Dame's Maria Panyi, who Kalinovskaya ended up beating in the finals for the title.

For Kalinovskaya, the third time was the charm. Her third title ended up being her favorite because it was the one she had to fight the hardest for.

"This one is the best because it was the one where I had to face the toughest competition," she said. "The change in format this year meant I had to fence 31 bouts which is never easy."

In epee, freshman Polo Wagner made good on her first trip to the NCAAs by making it to the finals and placing fifth. To top it all off she also garnered All-America honors.

Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said his team had done well, but was not ready to just hand them the title.

"I'm happy with our performance this far, but St. John's is breathing down our neck," he said. "I believe they are very strong, and we'll have a really tough fight in the men's competition."

The men's competition begins today and runs through tomorrow, after which a team champion will be decided.