Heading into Spring Break, with its' stellar regular season now complete, all that remains for the Penn State fencing team is to reclaim their national championship, a title they lost a year ago to St. John's.

After coming in second place at the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years, the Lions re-dedicated themselves: trained hard, added some key recruits, and built upon an already strong team core.

The results have been impressive. Despite some setbacks that included injuries to key fencers, both the men's and women's teams have put together exceptional regular seasons.

The women finished at 17-1, with a No. 2 national ranking, while the men ended up a perfect 16-0, ranked No. 3 in the country.

Head Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov was happy with the way his team performed this season.

"We had a successful dual-meet season," he said. "But there is room for improvement, we could have done better."

Throughout the season the Nittany and Lady Lions competed at the same events, but kept separate records. They faced most of the same opponents, some different, and were ranked separately. All that changes now.

The fencing national title is based on one event, the NCAA championships, which will be held in late March at Drew University in New Jersey.

The championships have been a combined event since 1990, meaning the NCAA team championship is decided by the results of both the men and women.

The fencers will be practicing throughout the break, in preparation for the Mid-Atlantic/Southern Regional competition, which is the weekend before students return to class.

"It's just one step in the direction of the NCAA championships," sophomore Alex Weber said.

The Mid-Atlantic/Southern Regional competition is one of four contests held across the country to determine who qualifies for the national championships. The Nittany and Lady Lions will have 24 fencers competing, vying for only 12 spots (two at every position) for NCAAs.

By finishing in the top eight at regionals, a fencer will qualify for nationals. The Lions have every intention of qualifying the maximum 12 fencers for NCAAs.

"Something big has to happen for us not to qualify 12, but nothing is guaranteed," captain Stephanie Eim said.

State College could be a lonely place during Spring Break for a team in training, but the fencers plan to make the most of it.

"It gives us a good opportunity to practice hard, focus, and bond as a team," Eim said. "We have to bond as a team, there's not going to be anyone else here."