Throughout the entire season, the Penn State men's fencing team has been ranked No. 2 in the national rankings. One week before the second biggest competition of the year, the Nittany Lions moved into first.

The team travels to Madison, N.J., for the Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals at Drew University this weekend to compete for positioning in the NCAA Championships March 17-20. With the men ranked first and the women ranked third, the Lions are a marked team.

"Being ranked so highly is very exciting," junior Chris Miller said. "But it keeps you on your toes because teams are gunning for you."

Miller is competing for the Lions in the men's foil along with seniors Nonpatat Panchan and Jacob Clark. Panchan completed the season with the impressive mark of 34-2. Freshman Jeffrey Chang will also be competing in Regionals, but for him it will be the first time. Miller hopes that the foil team will make a name for itself over the weekend.

"We've fenced almost every other team out there," Miller said. "So we're prepared to step up and compete the best we can."

The men will also be sending their saber squad, which is considered to be one of the best in the nation. It has captain Martin Zagunis and top ranked freshman Franz Boghicev leading the squad, along with sophomores Ian Farr and freshman Axel Reblewski. Boghicev has fenced his way to an overall 24-4 record in only his freshman year.

Freshman Dennis Kraft is coming off a third-place finish at the Junior Olympics in the epee and will compete along with senior Ryan Wangner and freshman Arthur Urman. Miller would like to see his whole team qualify for nationals but, in the end, only two from each weapon can qualify.

"There is a strong battle within each other," Miller said. "Essentially you want to root for your teammate who could eventually knock you out of qualifying for nationals."

The women head into Regionals ranked third and look to continue their strong performance from last year's Regionals. Captain Meredith Chin looks to improve over her third-place finish from last year in the foil and will be joined by junior Annekathrin Donath and sophomore Tamara Najm, who finished fifth last year. Former national champion in the epee Katarzyna Trzopek leads the squad along with junior Andrea Wine and sophomore Case Szarwark. The women's saber also hopes to continue its stellar season with sophomores Sophia Hiss and Laura Hillstrom representing the Lions.

The team will be competing against rivals Ohio State, St. John's and Columbia in their bids for National Championship standings.

"We work towards these competitions all season long," Miller said. "Now it's going to be a fight from now on."