March 22, 2009

University Park, Pa.; March 22, 2009- After Pennsylvania State University's Anastasia Ferdman and Nina Westman finished their opening bouts in the seventh round; everyone knew it would be Penn State who would take the title of National Champion. Penn State finished with 195 total victories. Notre Dame finished in second with 182 victories and Ohio State University finished third with 166. Columbia/Barnard ended in the fourth place position with 151 wins.

In women's sabre, Olympic bronze medalist Rebecca Ward gave Duke its first medal of the weekend. She beat Caroline Vloka of Harvard in the sabre Championship bout. Ward had 22 total victories for the weekend and Vloka had 20. St. John's Dagmara Wozniak and Columbia/Barnard's Daria Schneider both finished third with 19 victories.

Penn State's Doris Willette beat Notre Dame's Hayley Reese in the Championship foil bout to gain the title of National Champion. Doris had 20 victories on the weekend; including her semi-final 8-7 win against Harvard's Emily Cross. Cross, who won 21 bouts on the weekend, tied with Ohio State's Oksana Dmytruk for third.

Anastasia Ferdman from Penn State finished first in epee. Ferdman came from behind and defeated Notre Dame's Courtney Hurley in the semi-finals 15-13. In the finals, Ferdman faced Harvard's Noam Mills and defeated her 15-9. Ferdman had 17 victories for the weekend and Mills had 21. Hurley and Ewa Nelip, also from Notre Dame, tied for third.

Penn State ended the weekend with four first place finishers in men's saber, men and women's foil, and women's epee. Wayne State placed first in men's epee and Duke finished first in women's saber.