A loss to Notre Dame two weeks ago showed the nine-time NCAA champion Penn State fencing team that even it can be vulnerable on any given day.

This weekend, however, the Nittany and Lady Lions made any glimmer of vulnerability disappear as they finished their final dual meet of the season undefeated.

The No. 2 men's squad (14-1) rebounded strongly after the Notre Dame loss to upend No. 5 Penn 24-3, No. 7 Columbia-Barnard 19-8, and No. 3 St. John's 21-6. The women's team (18-0) capped its unblemished regular season by dominating Cornell 21-6, No. 9 Penn 19-8, No. 7 Temple 17-10 and No. 2 St. John's 19-8. The Lady Lions narrowly escaped a threatening No. 5 Columbia-Barnard squad, 15-12.

Early last week, junior Nonpatat Panchan challenged the team to come together as it moves closer to the Regional and NCAA Championships. The results? Seven wins over ranked opponents.

Penn State fencing coach Emmanuil Kaidanov, while not wanting to exaggerate the impact of the meeting, acknowledged that some members of the team responded to Panchan's words.

"Was it useful? Of course," Kaidanov said. "It shows athletes are concerned about being in shape."

Senior Austin O'Neill, who last week said the team meeting was necessary to address concerns about work ethic and purpose before the NCAA Championships, turned in a strong performance for the women's saber squad, posting a 10-4 mark. Freshman Annekathrin Donath and sophomore Meredith Chin paced the women's foil squad, finishing 12-1 and 12-2, respectively.

In the women's epee, Katarzyna Trzopek iced a phenomenal rookie season by piecing together a 14-0 record. With the 14 wins this weekend, Trzopek has now won 38 of her last 39 bouts.

On the men's side, captain Alex Weber continued his run for All-America honors, by finishing the weekend with eight wins to bring his regular season record to 23-0.

Junior Adam Wiercioch carried the men's epee, finishing 7-0 on the day. Defending National Champion Nonpatat Panchan and sophomore Ian Schlaepfer earned 15 wins for the men's foil, winning eight and seven, respectively.

"This tournament was very good and beneficial for Ian Schlaepfer," Kaidanov said. "He has gone through some ups and downs, so I was pleased to see him perform well."

While reluctant to make any predictions about the team's chances of nabbing its 10th championship in since 1990, Kaidanov said he is beginning to see the team come into form.

"We're getting closer to the shape I'd like us to be in," he said. "Everything's going as planned."