Nov. 22, 2003

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Cleveland State men's fencing team fared well at the Garret Penn State Open held over the weekend in State College, Pa. The individual competition featured a field consisting of many of the top collegiate fencers in the nation.

Senior Tim Levar (Wickliffe, Ohio/Lake Catholic) finished 22nd in epee and, in the process, recorded one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Levar handed Adam Wiercioch his only loss of the competition, a 5-3 decision in the preliminary rounds. Wiercioch is the defending NCAA champion and three-time All-American from Penn State.

Freshman Nate Krieger (Brooklyn, Ohio/Brooklyn) also performed well in epee, finishing 27th.

In foil, freshman Mike Merker (Neshanic Station, N.J./Somerville) finished 17th, losing to the eventual finalist in direct eliminations.

In his first major tournament, freshman saberist Jon Costanzo (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Brush) finished 47th.

"This event is similar to a preseason NIT and all four fencers competed at a high level and weren't intimidated by the competition," CSU head coach Jim Sager noted. "Part of my goal of having a strong early schedule was to prepare this young team for the NCAA Championships in March."

Cleveland State is in action again on Dec. 6 when the Vikings host Case Western. As part of Homecoming activities, the meet will be held in the Convocation Center prior to the men's basketball game against Utah Valley State.