March 21, 2012
University Park, Pa.- The Penn State Nittany Lion men's and women's fencing team will send 11 National Qualifiers to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend for the 2012 National Championships on March 22-25.. Penn State will be seeking their thirteenth National Championship and third in the last four years. Only Harvard, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Princeton, and St. John's will send more qualifiers, with each sending 12. Last year, Penn State finished second in the team standings, falling six points short of Notre Dame.
Two-Time All-American and 2010 National Champion Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (Milan, Italy) will lead Penn State in the Women's Epee. Guzzi Vincenti took third place at last year's national championships. She followed up a 44-10 regular season record by placing second at the Mid-Atlantic South Regional. Joining her in the Epee will be Oksana Samorodov (San Antonio, TX). The freshman placed ninth at the Regional to earn an at-large bid after going 46-18 during the regular season.
Monica Aksamit (Matawan, N.J.) will compete in her third national championship in the Women's Saber. The two-time All-American placed seventh last year after finishing fifth in 2010. Aksamit qualified by taking third place at the Regional. Nicole Glon (State College, Pa.) will compete in the national championships after finishing second at the Regional. Glon went 27-22 during the regular season.
Competing in the Women's Foil will be Alina Antokhina (Moscow, Russia) after the freshman placed fourth at the Regional. Antokhina carried a regular season record of 32-13 into the Regional.
Aleksander Ochocki (Clark, N.J.) will seek his fourth All-American status in the Men's Saber. Ochocki will also look to capture his second National Title, his first coming in 2009. Last year, Ochocki placed third at the National Championship. Joining Ochocki will be Adrian Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), the third place finisher at the Mid-Atlantic South Regional. Bak finished seventh at last year's National Championship to claim All-American status.
Men's Foil will be represented by Daniel Gomez-Tanamachi (Mexico City, Mexico) and David Gomez- Tanamachi (Mexico City, Mexico). Daniel, a junior, followed up a 34-13 regular season by winning the event at the Mid-Atlantic South Regional. The freshman, David finished fourth at the Regional to qualify for Nationals after going 21-2 during the regular season.
Senior Oliver Valdes (Southlake, TX) qualified for Nationals by finishing sixth in the Men's Epee at the Mid-Atlantic South Regional. Valdes finished the regular season with a mark of 30-28. Anthony Green (Stamford, Conn.) received an at-large bid after the sophomore took seventh place at the Regional.
The Men's team will enter the championships ranked fifth in the final CollegeFencing360.com Coaches Poll. The team dropped three spots in the latest poll. Ohio State, Princeton, St. John's, and Notre Dame make up the rest of the top five.
The Women's team finished fourth in the final Coaches Poll, dropping two spots. Princeton, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Columbia round out the top five.
Recaps and results from each day of the 2012 National Championship will be available on gopsusports.com. Please look at ncaa.com for more information.