The Patriots and Panthers have rested for two weeks before their big event this weekend.

The Penn State fencers haven't been afforded the same luxury.

The Penn State men's and women's fencing teams are headed to Brandeis University to compete in the grueling six-team Brandeis/MIT Invitational this Sunday morning.

Both Penn State teams will compete against national powerhouses such as Brown, Harvard, NYU, MIT, Boston College and Brandeis.

The Penn State teams are coming off a four-team meet last weekend and the number of bouts Sunday will start to catch up with even the most experienced fencers.

"It is a very heavy load," Penn State fencing coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said. "Six opponents in one day is more than I would like."

With the long day ahead of them, coach Kaidanov will bring along extra substitutes to give the starters a break when needed.

"We have some injuries throughout [all the weapons]," he said. "And we have lost fencers for other reasons, so the substitutes will play a key roll."

Throughout the season, one of the strongest weapons for the men's team has been the saber squad. Ian Farr, the freshman from Oregon who has been in the starting lineup, will not make the trip this weekend after suffering an injury outside of practice. Senior Matthew Gillig will fill in for Farr.

"Matt will fill in nicely," Kaidanov said. "He is the fourth or fifth fencer on our saber team, but he would be in the top three at any other school."

The depth of the saber squad will be tested this weekend, but All-American Marten Zagunis is confident that his team will prevail.

"Ian is someone who we will be hurting without," he said. "But I am glad to hear that Matt will be coming with us. He is probably as strong as the strongest guy on any team we will face. It is just frustrating for him because our team is so deep. This is a good opportunity for him."

The men's foil took a beating last weekend and will look to rebound without its two top fencers, who will be out for the remainder of the semester.

"I hope this weekend that they will do better," Kaidanov said. "I count on them doing better."

On the women's side, foil Meredith Chin will look to pick up where she left off last weekend and extend her unbeaten streak. Senior Heather Brosnan continues to get better every day and will make the trip to Boston this weekend, but she is not at 100 percent.

"Heather gets better everyday, but she is not even at half her ability right now," Kaidanov said. "But the important thing is that her mind is getting better."

Filling in for Brosnan is freshmen Sophia Hiss, who will continue to fight on the saber squad after making the switch from foil a little over a week ago.

For Kaidanov, weekends like these are always interesting.

"You have to have the psychological edge," he said. "Everyone has a solid team and anybody with a weapon in their hands is dangerous. We have the magnet on us."

With the Super Bowl this weekend, many sports may be swallowed up in the majesty that is football. Even Marten Zagunis, one of the team's leaders, has his mind on the big game.

"This is a good weekend to pay attention to [Penn State] fencing," he said. "We are going to go up there and come home with six wins. The biggest tragedy of the weekend is that we'll be on the bus coming home during the game."

--By Ryan Chadwick