Temple University's fencing teams made the trip to Happy Valley two weeks ago to open the season at Penn State's Garrett Open. Now the Penn State men's and women's fencing teams will pay the Owls a visit when they travel to Philadelphia this weekend for the 2005 Temple Open.

The Nittany Lions will be in action for the first time in two weeks, when the women compete tomorrow and the men begin on Sunday. The Temple Open is the Lions' second competition of the year, and will be an individual tournament just like the Garrett Open.

Many members of the team agreed that the Garrett Open was a great way to start the season. They said it gave them a good look at what they are up against this year on the national scene.

"You can see how other teams are, their level, and also your level," sophomore epee Megan Luteran said of the Garrett Open.

Penn State brought a high level of competition with it to its first tournament of the season, as it tries to improve on an impressive fourth-place finish in the nation last year.

At the Garrett Open, the women's team had at least one fencer in the top five of each weapon. Freshman Caitlin Thompson won the saber division, and had four teammates finish behind her in the top 12. Another freshman, Annekathrin Donath, was the Lions' top finisher in foil (fourth), and junior Case Szarwark led Penn State with a fourth place in epee.

Sophomore Arthur Urman won gold for the men in the epee division. His teammate and fellow sophomore Franz Boghicev took third in the saber, and sophomore Jeffery Chang finished runner-up in foil.

Several team members agree that this year's team has a lot of promise, but there is still room for improvement.

After winning the epee division at the Garrett Open, Urman noted that he wants to keep that focus for the rest of the season.

"[The win] was a great, great boost for the upcoming season, not an official tournament but a great start," Urman said. "I hope to exit like this."