Penn State held it’s lead through the fourth and final day of competition, winning the 2007 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championship. The Nittany Lions were led by Doris Willette’s gold medal performance in women’s foil, and Caitlin Thompson’s silver medal finish in women’s saber.
Penn State captured its first NCAA Team Fencing title since 2002 led by Doris Willette’s gold in foil at the 2007 NCAA Fencing Championships held at Drew University in Madison, N.J. Willette’s dominant 24-1 performance during the tournament highlighted a Nittany Lion triumph. Columbia’s Daria Schneider took gold in women’s saber and Anna Garina of Wayne State won the women’s epee title.
Penn State used 105 bout victories from its women’s team to capture the title with a score of 194. St. John’s (N.Y.) finished second with 176 and Columbia/Barnard was third at 169. Notre Dame took fourth with 160.
Penn State’s Doris Willette had an outstanding tournament, cruising through the opening rounds with just a single loss while compiling a 22-1 record and a +72 touch indicator. Facing her teammate Tamara Najm in the semifinals, Willette continued her success, winning 15-5. In the gold medal bout, Willette defeated Monika Golebiewski of St. John’s, 15-10, to take the title in her freshman year. Adrienne Nott of Notre Dame defeated Najm in the bronze medal bout.
Anna Garina of Wayne State nearly matched Willette’s performance en route to a Gold in the women’s saber. Garina won 21 bouts in the opening round before defeating Kelley Hurley of Notre Dame in the final to win her third gold medal of her career, having won the title in 2004 and 2005. Reka Szele of St. John’s won the bronze, defeating Anastasia Ferdman of Penn State. Daria Schneider of Columbia scored the title in women’s saber with a thrilling 15-11 win over Caitlin Thompson of Penn State. Thompson qualified for the semis as the top seed before defeating Emily Jacobson of Columbia in the semis. Schneider avenged her teammate’s loss by taking the 15-11 decision in the finals for her first gold.
