Decision time arrives for fencers

The goal for the Penn State fencing team is simple: advance 10 fencers to the NCAA Championships.

This weekend, the Lions will be one of 13 teams competing in the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Fencing Championships at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. This competition will ultimately decide which fencers go to Notre Dame to compete for the team's fourth consecutive national championship.

Nineteen fencers -- 10 women, nine men -- will represent Penn State at the weekend-long event. In all, 42 fencers will compete in both the women's foil and epee events, 30 fencers will participate in each of the three men's weapons -- foil, epee and sabre.

Last season, Penn State and Notre Dame were the only schools to qualify the maximum number of fencers. They finished first and second, respectively, at NCAAs. Penn State knows winning another title would be a chore without ten fencers competing.

"It will be more difficult (to win NCAAs with less than 10 fencers), but it's not impossible," junior epee fencer Wendy Hall said. "Whoever goes will just have to do really well."

The competition won't be unfamiliar to the Lions. Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said the toughest fencers his team will face will be from Princeton, Rutgers, North Carolina, Duke, Haverford and John's Hopkins. With the exception of Princeton and Johns Hopkins, Penn State encountered these teams during the regular season. Both the men and women were 4-0 against these teams and weren't seriously challenged.

"I don't think they will qualify all 10," Kaidanov said. "But we have a chance."

The biggest question the Lions have this weekend may not be if they are going to qualify the maximum two fencers per weapon, but which two will advance. In most weapons, the Lions possess more than two quality fencers and the decision of which two will represent the team will be difficult.

But this is a situation the fencers have faced before.

"Every year when we go to regionals, we have this problem," junior Gang Lu said. "It's too bad when you have many good fencers and you can only send two. That's just the way it is."

If the Lions can send the full contingent to defend their championship at NCAAs, this problem will be one the team will happily deal with.