Oct. 22, 2007
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State fencing team will head into the 2007-08 season looking to reload after last year's national championship run. With a number of fencers lost to graduation and two more All-Americans taking Olympic red-shirts, head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov will need plenty of production from some talented but untested individuals to challenge for the title in 2008.
"Realistically, we are facing a rebuilding year for the simple reason that we have graduated so many talented fencers and two more are taking Olympic red-shirts," Kaidanov said. "The women's side has a lot of open spots in the starting line-up, especially with Doris Willette and Caitlin Thompson taking Olympic red-shirts. The men's side will be much more experienced and we will lean on them this year in much the same way we leaned on the women last season."
Penn State claimed it's NCAA record 10th national title in 2007, garnering 11 All-Americans and one honorable mention All-American in the process. Only five of those 11 All-Americans return for the new season, leaving plenty up for grabs as the 2007-08 squad heads into the new year.
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
Senior captain Arthur Urman is one of four returning All-Americans on the men's side of the strips. The two-time All-American (and one time honorable mention) fencer placed sixth in the epee last season and will look to challenge for the national epee title this year. Urman will be joined by All-Americans Michael Chang, Nick Chinman and Franz Boghicev as leading veterans for the Nittany Lion men.
EPEE
Urman leads the charge in the epee. The captain placed sixth last season after a 34-14 dual match campaign. He heads into his final campaign with a 101-30 career mark.
Joining Urman as top returners in the epee line-up will be junior James Moody. Moody won the Mid-Atlantic/South regional crown last year and went 30-16. Moody has a 59-30 career record. Senior Dennis Kraft is coming off a 27-2 season as well and sophomore Max Dettlinger went 13-4 in spot action. Junior Charles Cimet, sophomores Samuel Gay, Daniel Hadley and Brian Heflich and freshmen Samuel Larsen, J. Milton Lindsay, Kevin Luteran, John Molloy and Michael Phu will all look to earn a spot in the epee rotation as well.
Penn State will be looking to replace All-American Steffen Launer, who returned to Germany to try and make the German Olympic team. The epee squad went 19-2 last year and capped off the season with both Launer and Urman becoming All-Americans.
FOIL
All-Americans Nick Chinman and Jeffrey Chang return to spark a very deep weapon for Kaidanov and the Nittany Lions. The duo will be bolstered and challenged by a deep crew of talented fencers looking to make their marks on the national scene.
Chinman went 26-7 in duals in 2006-07 and won the regional title before finishing fifth at nationals to become an All-American as a freshman. Chang earned his first All-America nod with an eighth place finish at nationals. Chang led all Nittany Lion men last year with a 46-13 dual match record. He heads into his final season at Penn State with an 85-33 record. Junior Alexander Louton also returns after a 35-15 season and is 60-20 as a two-year starter. Sophomore Robert MacClaren also returns after going 21-9 during his freshman campaign.
Joining that veteran foursome in the foil will be junior Janos Gasparin, who has a 25-12 career record; senior Alexander Goldenberg, who is 11-1 and coming off a season out of competition; and classmate Sergio Hey-Colon, 9-7 over three years. Freshmen Mitchell Juson and Samuel Perkins will look to push the veterans in what is, perhaps, Penn State's deepest weapon on the men's side.
SABER
The men's saber features the talents of three-time All-American Franz Boghicev. Boghicev has finished fourth, sixth and eighth at nationals and heads into his final campaign looking to contend for the NCAA crown. He was 27-3 in duals last year and has a stellar 76-9 career record.
Three other talented veterans will join Boghicev in the saber, led by sophomore Daniel Bak. Bak posted a 31-5 record in 2006-07 as a freshman. Joining Bak to contend for a starting spot will be classmate William Anderson, who went 4-0 last season, and senior Alexander Vongreis. Vongreis posted a solid 25-8 mark in duals last year and has a 45-18 career record.
Kaidanov will be looking to replace the services of honorable mention All-American Ian Farr, who had 40 wins in dual matches in 2006-07. With only four fencers on the saber roster to start the pre-season, look for some movement among the deeper weapons to shore up Penn State's fortunes in the saber.
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Senior Megan Luteran heads into her final season as the team captain on the women's side of the strips. Luteran has been a critical component to Penn State's recent success and heads into her final year in the epee as women's captains. Only one of last year's six women's All-Americans return to action this season, with two of last year's medalists taking Olympic red-shirts. Luteran and returning All-American Anastasia Ferdman will be counted on to lead a talented but inexperienced group into action.
EPEE
Luteran went 1-2 last year and carries a 30-15 career record into her final season with the Nittany Lions. Ferdman won the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional title last year and placed fourth at nationals to become an All-American as a freshman. Her 53-9 record was tops (in wins) among all Penn State fencers last year. Also returning will be sophomore Maria Joao Reis. Reis posted a superb 44-8 record as a freshman in dual meets last year.
Joining Luteran and Ferdman to challenge for national glory will be sophomore Keri Byerts. Byerts posted a 16-4 dual match record in her first year with Penn State. Junior Larissa Andrejko also returns for her second go-round with the Nittany Lions. Sophomore Liana Webster is in her first season with Penn State as his freshman Caitlin Marie Vassoler.
Penn State will need to replace the talents of senior All-American Case Szarwark, who went 45-4 in duals last year and finished seventh at nationals.
FOIL
Last year's freshman National Champion Doris Willette, who went a perfect 33-0 in duals as a rookie and claimed the regional and national crowns, is taking an Olympic red-shirt in order to try and represent the United States at the 2008 Olympics. Also gone to graduation is All-American Tamara Najm, thus leaving a huge gap in veteran experience in the foil that a number of talented Nittany Lions will look to fill.
Junior Allison Glasser is the most accomplished of the returning fencers, sporting a 78-22 career record, including a 42-13 record last year. Glasser will be joined by classmate Anne Jackson, who was 35-12 in 2006-07 and has a 37-15 career mark. Senior Sara Gonzalez returns and has a 17-6 career record.
Sophomores Emily Dougherty and Sophia Siu return for their second campaigns as well. Newcomers Sarita Mizin, a sophomore, and freshman Christina Morgart will also be in the mix as Kaidanov looks for depth in the foil as well.
SABER
Two-time All-American and defending NCAA National Runner-Up Caitlin Thompson will join Willette as an Olympic red-shirt with aspirations of representing her nation in the Olympics. Fellow All-American Sophia Hiss has graduated as well, leaving plenty of starting time open to a talented group of fencers looking to step up and maintain Penn State's level of excellence.
Sophomores Jessica Danh and Stephanie Herbert return as fencers who gained plenty of experience as rookies in 2006-07. Danh went 22-9 as a freshman and Herbert went 23-15. Classmate Nikoletta Proudan also went 8-2 as a freshman and looks to compete for a starting spot.
Senior Ashley Gin Fong Linker returns after not seeing any dual action in 2006-07. Linker has a 40-8 career record, including a 28-8 mark as a sophomore in 2005-06. Freshmen Lee Valigorsky and Lori Greszczak will be in the mix in the saber as the lone newcomer in the weapon.
THE CHALLENGE
Needing to replace so many talented fencers puts Kaidanov in the unusual position of feeling like he is rebuilding, although the credentials of those looking to fill the void of the departed are strong. "We always look at each season as a series of steps," Kaidanov said. "We must strive to improve every time we compete in order to have a chance to qualify 12 fencers for nationals. If we improve and compete well at regionals, we will qualify many fencers for the finals. That is all we can work towards and the rest will take care of itself."