July 1, 1996

A POINT WELL-MADE

By winning yet another foil crown, Olga Kalinovskaya becomes the first woman to capture four individual titles

Kalinovskaya's coach, Emmanuil G. Kaidanov, said that when Kalinovskaya came to Penn State, he knew she had great potential.

"I knew she was quite strong," he said. "But that she can win four times, that is impossible to predict. I expected her to win one, maybe two times. The field is very strong."

Only Michael Lofton of New York University, who won sabre crowns from 1984 through 1987, has won four titles in the 52 years that NCAA men's fencing champions have been crowned.

With her collegiate eligibility completed, Kalinovskaya will go on to graduate school in engineering -- a good place for someone with the precision of a fencer.

"She is very precise. She has the mind of an engineer," Kaidanov said.

With Kalinovskaya's help, Penn State won its second consecutive team title in the National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships and its fourth overall. Nicole Dygert of St. John's University (New York) won the women's epee title.

This was the first year of a new fencing championships format that included a "medal round" in each of the five individual events. The 24 fencers who qualified in each weapon fenced a round-robin competition and then the top four fencers advanced to semifinal matches, with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed facing No. 3. The winners of those bouts competed for the individual titles.

Other highlights of 1995-96 women's championships:

* The University of Florida's women's tennis team completed a perfect season by winning the Division I championships title. Florida also swept the individual titles with Jill Craybas winning in singles and Dawn Buth and Stephanie Nickitas combining to win the doubles crown. The titles sweep was the second in the championships' 15-year history. Stanford University won team and individual championships in 1990.

* In the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, discovered that a home crowd can be a real plus. With the support of its home fans, Alabama won the title with a record 198.025 points after finishing second at the last three championships. In the only other championships at Alabama (in 1991), the Crimson Tide also won the team title. Alabama has won three women's gymnastics titles overall. Kim Kelly, Danielle McAdams and Merideth Willard led the Alabama squad, each scoring 39.000-plus points in the all-around competition. McAdams posted a perfect 10.000 on the vault and Kelly scored 10s on the vault and floor exercise.

* In a championship staged at the site of the 1996 Olympic

women's softball competition in Columbus, Georgia, the University of Arizona beat a Pacific-10 Conference foe, the University of Washington, to win its fourth title. The 1996 Olympics are the first in which women's softball will be a medal sport. In Division III softball, Trenton State College won its sixth title but the first under new coach Sally Miller. Trenton State won its other five titles under the sport's most-victorious coach, June Walker, who retired. Kennesaw State College overcame a late-innings scare from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, to win its second consecutive title in Division II.

* The NCAA divided women's golf into two team championships for the first time in 1996 -- a Division I championship and a Divisions II and III championship. The University of Arizona won the inaugural Division I title with Marisa Baena winning the individual crown and helping the Wildcats to victory by holing an 8-iron shot for an eagle on the first hole of a playoff. Methodist College took the Divisions II and III title and Shanna Nagy of Florida Southern College earned individual honors.

* In women's swimming and diving, last year's winners retained their titles. Kenyon College continued its dominance in Division III, winning a 13th straight crown and extending the longest winning streak in NCAA women's championships history. In Division II, the U.S. Air Force Academy won a second straight crown in its last competition before moving to Division I. And in Division I, Stanford took home its fifth straight crown.

* The title in Division II women's basketball didn't change hands, either. North Dakota State University won its fourth straight championship and the fifth in six years. In Division III, the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, earned its first crown by completing a perfect 31-0 season. Wisconsin-Oshkosh is the second straight Division III champion to go undefeated. Capital University accomplished the feat in 1995, when it beat Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the title game.

* All of the 1995 team winners in women's track -- both indoor and outdoor -- won again in 1996. Louisiana State University dominated in Division I track. LSU took the Division I indoor title for the fourth straight year and claimed the outdoor championship for the 10th straight time. LSU became the first Division I women's program in any sport to win 10 consecutive team titles. The indoor title was LSU's seventh overall. Abilene Christian University increased its title total to eight in indoor track and six in outdoor track. Wisconsin-Oshkosh increased its totals to three indoor championships and four outdoor team titles.