Ian Farr Staff

Ian Farr, a legendary sabreur for Penn State University and a member of the Oregon Fencing Alliance, enters his fourth season with the Irish fencing team. Farr works with the men[apos]s and women[apos]s sabre squads and assists with the teams[apos] social media content outside of the strip.

In 2011, his first season with the program, Notre Dame qualified four sabreurs and won the NCAA Championship. Seniors Barron Nydam (6th) and Eileen Hassett (3rd) both finished their careers as four time All-Americans, while Avery Zuck (2nd) earned three such awards. Lian Osier (9th) also earned third-team All-American accolades in her first appearance at the NCAAs and went on to earn two more All-American awards in [apos]12 and [apos]13 respectfully.

Following in big sister Eileen[apos]s footsteps and benefitting from Farr[apos]s tutelage, Kevin Hassett burst onto the scene at the 2012 Championships and finished seventh with a 14-9 record and +13 indicator, the highest finish of the four sabreists in 2012. At his second Championship appearance in [apos]13, Hassett finished ninth with a +11 indicator.

In 2013, Farr worked his magic once more, sending four sabreurs to the NCAA Championship in San Antonio, Texas, with two of them being freshman. Women[apos]s sabreuse Johanna Thill showed poise beyond her years and finished 11th with an 11-12 record and +7 indicator, earning her first All-American award in the process.

Before joining the Notre Dame coaching staff, Farr worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Northwestern University. He was responsible for coaching 35 female student-athletes, providing each member of the eight-person sabre squad with one-on-one instruction. In his one season in Evanston, Ill., the Wildcats put together a successful 45-5 record. Before accepting the volunteer coaching position at Northwestern, Farr worked in the University[apos]s camps department, leading fencing related drills and activities for open and competitive fencing camps in the summer of 2008.

Prior to his tenure on the Wildcat staff, Farr worked for 11 months in the Portland State University athletics department (2007-2008), where his responsibilities included but were not limited to assisting event managers in preparation for all athletic events, including football. Farr also served as the intermediary between the officials and visiting teams to ensure a safe and friendly environment for all parties, in addidtion to managing student-workers.

Before entering into the athletics field, Farr served as a documents and legal assistant at Thompson & Bogran P.C. in Lake Oswego, Ore., from 2007 through 2008. He maintained existing cases and was responsible for organizing incoming discovery for the law firm.

During his college career, Farr competed with a very talented Penn State team, including the 2007 team that went on to capture the NCAA title. Along with helping the team capture the title, he also grabbed All-America honors in each of the 2004 and 2007 seasons and served as the men[apos]s fencing team representative in 2006-07 for the Student-Athlete Advisory Board. Farr was also chosen to represent the United States in several World Cup fencing competitions.

Farr continued his schooling while on staff at Notre Dame, earning a master[apos]s degree in sports administration from Northwestern University in 2012.