March 2, 2008

DETROIT - Six members of the Wayne State University women's fencing squad competed on Sunday at the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by the University of Detroit.

The top-five finishers will receive automatic bids in both the sabre and epee, while the top-four finishers in foil will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championship March 13-16 at The Ohio State University.

In addition to the automatic bids, several at-large bids will also be available. Selections for the NCAA Championship are based on two primary criteria: power ranking (40%) - which determines the regional seeding - and regional finish (60%). The at-large bids will be announced on Tuesday, March 4.

The NCAA regional featured a direct-elimination stage following pool rounds. The competition will feature preliminary pool rounds (if needed) to seed for the 16-fencer double-elimination tournament, with the first eight spots being fenced out.

In the women's sabre, Karolina Budna placed fourth to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Ann Bartoszewicz was eighth while Anna Kotov placed 15th. Bartoszewicz must await word on an at-large bid.

In women's foil, Samantha Strassburg placed 12th.

Justyna Konczalska finished fifth in the women's epee to secure her spot at the NCAA Championship. Emanuela Bercea was 18th. Konczalska will be making her third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance after placing fourth in 2006 and ninth in 2007.