Andrea Wine was sitting at her desk last Wednesday and suddenly felt a tearing sensation in her leg. Already being treated by Penn State trainers for an ankle injury that she sustained the previous week, Wine, a Penn State fencer, found out she had torn the meniscus in her left knee. Despite trainers' diagnosis that she might not be able to participate in the biggest competition of the year, Wine made it her goal to compete last weekend.

"I packed all my stuff not knowing if I was going to compete at all," Wine said. "But I told the doctor that I wanted to compete no matter what."

The Nittany Lions were going to South Bend, Ind., to compete in the Notre Dame Duals against the top teams in the country and Wine did not want to be left on the sideline.

"They finally cleared me to fence, but they told me if anything hurt to just stop," Wine said. "I was a complete mess the entire bus ride."

When the team arrived, Wine was ready to go, torn meniscus and all. The junior from Friendswood, Texas, competed in the women's epee and had the best overall record on the team, finishing 13-2.

"Before each match, I kept thinking about my ankle and my knee, and I don't know what happened," Wine said. "I just kept winning."

That didn't stop the pain, but Wine managed to gut out a stellar performance. Wine was the only woman fencer from Penn State to not drop a match against Ohio State and Notre Dame over the weekend. With the weekend off, Wine hopes that she will be better for the next competition against top-ranked Columbia at the Penn Duals.

"Hopefully the trainers can repair me soon." Wine said. "If I need any surgery, it will have to wait until after the season."

After being told she should not compete and leading her team to a 3-2 record against the top teams in the country, Wine did more than many thought she could.

"I was so afraid to drop a bout the entire time I competed." Wine said. "But I was motivated to just keep going and win. And I did."