UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's fencing squad crowned five All-Americans and the Nittany Lions were named National Runners-Up in the 2021 NCAA Championship Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Freshman Samantha Catantan (Quezon City, Philippines) led all foil fencers winning all 20 of her preliminary bouts. She advanced to the foil Semifinal with an undefeated record. Teammate Lodovica Bicego (Vicenza, Italy) won 15 of her 20 bouts and also advanced to the foil Semifinal. Bicego beat Catantan, 15-14, but fell short in the Championship bout and finished second overall. Catantan tied Amita Berthier of Notre Dame for third overall. Both women earned All-America honors.
Senior captain Kelli Wozniak (Westerville, Ohio) won 15 of her 21 bouts and earned a spot in the saber Semifinal. She fell short against Kara Linder of Notre Dame by a score of 15-14. Wozniak tied Karolina Kaleta of St. John's for third overall and earned All-America honors. Saber teammate Zara Moss (Cranberry Township, Pa.) won 14 of her 21 bouts, finishing fifth overall and also earning All-America honors.
Freshman epee fencer Kateryna Chorniy (Kyiv, Ukraine) won 13 of her 21 bouts, finishing with a .619 win percentage and eighth overall. She earned All-America honors in her first NCAA tournament appearance. Epee teammate sophomore Axelle Wasiak (Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium) finished the tournament winning nine of her 21 bouts and fourteenth overall.
The Nittany Lions earned a total of 182 points throughout the championship and were crowned National Runners-Up behind first place Notre Dame.
Ten Penn State fencers earned All-America honors at the 2021 NCAA Championships: Ryan Griffiths (men's epee), Lodovica Bicego (women's foil), Jonathan Piskovatskov (men's epee), Samantha Catantan (women's foil), Kelli Wozniak (women's saber), Clement Perrier (men's saber), Zara Moss (women's saber), Sebastiano Bicego (men's foil), Arwen Borowiak (men's foil) and Kateryna Chorniy (women's epee).
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