April 3, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion fencing team completed yet another successful season that was capped off with a third place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Eight Penn State fencers took home All-America honors. In his 31 years at Penn State, head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov has coached 191 fencers to All-American nods.
Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and 2010 National Champion Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (Milan, Italy) each claimed their fourth All-America title thanks to their third place finishes at the NCAA Championships. The two fencers join the elite ranks of those who have earned All-America nods in each year they have competed at Penn State.
Two Nittany Lion fencers ended their seasons as NCAA Runner-Ups. Freshman Shaul Gordon (Richmond, Canada) shined in the men's saber competition to earn him second place and his first All-America nod. Senior David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) claimed his third All-America title with his second place finish in men's foil.
Other All-America honors were claimed by saberists Adrian Bak (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), Jessica Russo (Wayne, N.J.) and Nicole Glon (State College, Pa.), as well as freshman foilist Clarisse Luminet (Lyon, France).
Outstanding records launched three Nittany Lions into spots on the Penn State career leaders list. Chamley-Watson ended his Penn State career with an 83-14 record that put him in eighth place on the all time men's foil career leaders chart. Guzzi Vincenti's fantastic Nittany Lion career cumulated in a 211-29 record, which puts her in fourth place on the women's epee career leaders list. Russo is now in tenth place on the women's saber list with her 93-47 record.
The regular season was highlighted by the men's team nearly perfect 23-1 dual record. The women's team finished with a 14-11 record. Several freshmen stormed onto the scene in their first year to prove that Penn State will continue to be a force in the collegiate fencing world. Championship competitors Gordon and Luminet, as well as Kaito Streets (Redwood City, Calif.) and Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.), all impressed in their first year in Happy Valley.
Kaidanov will begin his 32nd season at Penn State in the fall with hopes of bringing home the fencing program's 13th National Championship.