The Penn State fencing team began the defense of its national championship this weekend, garnering 10 medals at the 23rd Annual Temple Collegiate Open at McGonigle Arena in Philadelphia.

The competition was used to see who was ready for the starting lineup and for others who are looking to crack it, Penn State fencing coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said.

Sophomore Meredith Chin won gold in the women's foil on Saturday and sophomore teammate Laura Yee also placed in the event with a fifth-place finish. Chin defeated Jeanne Brown of host Temple to earn the victory while Ivona Pusczkorczuk of North Carolina captured third.

"It was expected," Kaidanov said of Chin's performance. "She repeated last year's success. She won and she won comfortably."

Two other fencers also placed for the women with junior Meredith Steyer placing fifth in the sabre followed in sixth by fifth-year senior teammate Austin O'Neill.

Last year, Steyer narrowly missed qualifying for a trip to nationals despite a 35-8 record while O'Neill redshirted.

Rutgers fencer Alexis Jemal won the gold in women's saber followed by Sakinah Shhahid of Temple and teammate Aziza Hassan.

In the women's epee, Jane Goto of Penn took home the gold, followed by Siobhan Cully of Cornell and Rebecca Kehoe of Rutgers placing third.

On Sunday, the men took to the strip with senior Matt Gillig capturing second place in the men's sabre. Classmate Noah Jacobson took the bronze. Chris Flanders of Haverford defeated Gillig in the finals of the sabre competition.

Also for the Lions, sophomore Ryan Wangner captured a bronze medal while Matt Speckenbach, also a sophomore, brought home an eighth-place finish in epee.

"It was a promising start to the season for Ryan," Kaidanov said.

The Lions also won medals in the foil, where juniors Joe Brown and Chris Dickson finished fifth and eighth respectively.

"It was a useful competition," Kaidanov said. "We had a lot of bouts and it's clear who is who."