UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State men’s fencing team has moved up to the number one spot in the most recent CollegeFencing360.com Coaches Poll, the website announced today. The Nittany Lion men were previously ranked No. 2 in the January poll. The women’s team stayed at their No. 5 spot in the most recent poll.
At its last NCAA Dual, the men’s team beat the then- No. 1 Ohio State, as well as four other top 10 teams, to continue its undefeated season. The women’s team went 3-2 at the St. John’s Invitational, but only lost to higher-ranked teams.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Durham, N.C. this weekend to compete in the two-day Duke Invitational, which will take place Feb. 9 and 10. The Nittany Lions will be competing against MIT, Air Force Academy, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke, with action set to begin at 10 a.m. on both days.
Notre Dame is sure to be the Lions’ toughest competition this weekend. The Fighting Irish men’s team is right behind Penn State in the No. 2 spot, and the Notre Dame women are ranked first in the country. The two teams met at the St. John’s Invitational two weeks ago. The Penn State men came out victorious by a score of 19-8, and the women lost 9-18 to the Fighting Irish.
The results from this weekend’s trip to Durham, N.C. will be posted on GoPSUsports.com at the conclusion of each day of action.
The complete rankings for the CollegeFencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll are listed below:
Men:
1. Penn State – 146 voting points
2. Notre Dame – 127
3. Princeton – 125
4. Ohio State – 122
5. St. John’s – 116
6. Columbia – 110
7. Harvard – 91
8. Pennsylvania – 71
9. Stanford – 58
10. Duke – 56
Also Receiving Votes: Brown (48), Sacred Heart (40), Yale (29), Air Force (16), UC San Diego (14), North Carolina (12), MIT (8), Johns Hopkins (7), NYU (2), and Brandeis (2)
Women:
1. Notre Dame – 144.5 voting points
2. Princeton – 136.5
3. Columbia – 127
4. Ohio State – 120
5. Penn State – 112
6. St. John’s – 102
7. Northwestern – 82
8. Harvard – 80
9. Temple – 79
10. Pennsylvania – 59
Also Receiving Votes: Duke (45), Cornell (28), Brown (25), Stanford (23), North Carolina (10), Sacred Heart (6), UC San Diego (5), NYU (5), MIT (2), Boston College (1), Stevens Tech (1), Yale (1)
