Waltham is a small town in eastern Massachusetts, most famous for the Waltham Watch Factory and Brandeis University.

This morning and tomorrow, the latter is more important for the eight members of the No. 3 ranked Penn State women's fencing team.

They are one-ninth of the 72 fencers from all over the country who will compete in the NCAA championships over the next two days.

Team competition begins at 10 today and will conclude mid-afternoon tomorrow.

Each of Penn State's fencers will compete in the round-robin tournament to determine a team champion and then the top four fencers from each weapon will go on to battle for individual honors.

The Lions have solid fencers from each weapon, including a defending national champion at epee.

Katarzyna Trozopek is the hands down favorite to defend her title. She cut through her competition like a hot knife through butter all year long. Possibly the only person who doesn't have Trozopek going all the way is herself.

"[ Trozopek] is her toughest critic," Penn State fencing coach Emanuil Kaidanov. "I definitely expect her to win, and I want her to win."

Joining Trozopek is freshman standout Case Szarwark and alternate sophomore Andrea Wine.

Szarwark, who is one of the top epee in the nation at the junior level, will try to improve on her fifth-place finish at regionals.

Co-captain Meredith Chin, an All-American foil, will look to live up to the hype surrounding her junior year. She took third at regionals after an impressive season.

Annekathrin Donath will also compete in the round robin after taking second.

Rounding out the eight are two sabers, one of which used to be a foil.

Heather Brosnan and Sophia Hiss earned spots in the championships, but it wasn't easy.

Brosnan, a three-time All-American, battled a nagging ankle injury all season long but still earned her spot with an eighth place finish in regionals. And Hiss, who started the season at foil but made the switch to saber to replace Brosnan, took fourth.

After a long season, the light at the end of the tunnel is less then two days away for the women's fencing team. Anything can happen, and it usually does.