May 1, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; May 1, 2008 - Penn State Nittany Lion women's fencer Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) will represent the United State is the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Willette will compete as a member of the U.S. women's foil team.
The 2007 NCAA National Champion as a freshman, Willette took an Olympic red-shirt this season to pursue a spot in the Games and came through in fine fashion with a sixth place finish at the 2008 World Championships last month. Willette's sixth place finish helped earn her a spot on the foil team (she will not compete on an individual basis).
As a true freshman last year (2006-07), Willette posted a stunning 33-0 record and blazed her way to the NCAA women's foil crown, all while leading Penn State to the team title that year. The fencing portion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be held at the Fencing Hall in the National Convention Center on the Olympic Green from August 9-17.
In addition to Willette's outstanding performance at the World Championships, teammates Nick Chinman (Boulder, Colo.) and Daniel Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) had outstanding trips to the World Championships. Chinman placed in the top 16 individually in the foil and helped the U.S. Foil team win the team Gold Medal. Bak was instrumental in the U.S. Saber team's fourth place finish.
The Penn State fencing team, coming off a fourth place finish at nationals without Willette, is coached by veteran mentor Emmanuil Kaidanov.