Sept. 13, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Members of the Penn State women's volleyball and the men's and women's fencing national championship teams will travel to Washington D.C. on Monday, Sept. 13 to visit the White House and meet with the President of the United States for NCAA Champions Day.
The Nittany Lions are two of more than 30 teams to be honored at the White House. In association with the event, the President will also recognize various championship teams and individual student-athletes for their contributions to their communities, continuing efforts by President Obama to commend sports champions for service.
In 2009, the Penn State women's volleyball team earned a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against Texas for an unprecedented third straight NCAA National Championship. The program has four overall. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 38-0 for the second consecutive season and captured their seventh Big Ten title in a row with a 20-0 league record. Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was named the AVCA Division I National Player of the Year and joined Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) on the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
Doris Willette |
The Penn State fencers won their fifth national title in the last decade on March 28. It was the team's second consecutive NCAA Championship win. Head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov has led the Nittany Lions to 12 national championships and 27 individual titles.
Last year, Kaidanov's team rolled to the title, outdistancing second place St. John's by nearly 10 points. Freshman Margerita Guzzi Vincenti (Milan, Italy) won the individual national title in the women's epee to lead Penn State. Guzzi Vincenti was one of nine All-Americans for Penn State, including two-time national champion Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.), who was second in the foil. Willette's brother David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.), a freshman, was national runner-up in the men's foil while Daniel Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), was second in the men's saber.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team and Penn State men's and women's fencing, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.