March 12, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A combined 12 members of the Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams will take part in the 2008 NCAA Fencing Championships this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The event gets underway on Thursday, March 13 and will run through Sunday, March 16. The Fighting Irish qualified a maximum six fencers for both the men and women.
Last season, the Fighting Irish placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in Madison, N.J. Notre Dame has won the combined national championship in 1994, 2003 and 2005. The Fighting Irish claimed the men’s title in 1977, 1978 and 1986. The Notre Dame women captured the NCAA crown in 1987.
THE EVENT: The 2008 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships, March 13-16, in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by The Ohio State University.
THE VENUES: Preliminary competition will take place at French Field House. The Opening Ceremonies and the gold medal matches in all six-weapon events will take place at St. John Arena.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets may be purchased in advance by logging on to www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com, by phoning 1-800-GOBUCKS, or at the ticket office in the southeast corner of the Jerome Schottenstein Center beginning February 1.
Ticket prices are:
All Tournament — $10 ($2.00 per order fee in advance) Daily — $3 ($0.50 per order fee in advance) Tickets purchased at French Field House on the day of the event are cash only and there are no additional fees.
THE FORMAT: Each of the six weapon events will be contested as a round-robin of the 24 competitors. Every win counts as one point toward the team championship. At the conclusion of the round-robin, the top four fencers in each event fence for the individual championships (those bouts do not count toward the team championship).
The 24 fencers are divided into eight groups of three. Schoolmates are kept together, unless there are more than eight schools with two fencers, in which case a pair or pairs of teammates is split at random. In any event, the first bout two schoolmates fence in the round-robin is against each other.
The first round is fenced as a six-person pool, where the members of a group fence among themselves, and then fence another group of three. The remainder of the bouts are fenced as a dual-meet format of three against three.
Fourteen bouts are fenced the first day, and the final nine are fenced the second day.
This year, the women’s events will be fenced on Thursday and Friday, with the men following on Saturday and Sunday.
Group assignments and bout order will be released on Wednesday evening for the women, and Friday afternoon for the men.
HERE COME THE IRISH: Notre Dame is one of only four teams to have a full complement of twelve fencers (two in each event) at the Championships. The others are hosts Ohio State, Columbia-Barnard, and St. John’s. Penn State, the defending national champion, has eleven fencers, while 2006 champion Harvard has ten. This marks the sixth time that Notre Dame has qualified 12 fencers for the NCAAs, with the others occurring 2000-03 and 2006. Notre Dame’s seven freshmen entrants tied a program record set in 2000.
The twelve Notre Dame fencers are:
Kelley Hurley (Women’s Epee; So, San Antonio, Texas)
98-5 (.951) career winning percentage puts her currently at fourth all-time, behind only Maria Panyi, Sara Walsh, and Mariel Zagunis, and best among all Irish epeeists…47-1 (.979) 2008 season tops all-time season winning percentage list…defending silver-medalist at NCAA Championships, highest-returning finisher from 2007 NCAAs…second trip to NCAAs.
2007 NCAAs: Silver medalist, losing 15-13 to Wayne State’s Anna Garina in final…defeated Reka Szele of St. John’s in semi-final…18-5 in round robin, defeating 2008 NCAA competitors Tess Finkel (Columbia-Barnard); Alexandra Obrazcova (Ohio State); Maria Larsson (Harvard); Caitlin Kozel (Brandeis); Reka Szele and Tanya Novakovska (St. John’s); and Jasjit Bhinder (Princeton)…First-team All-American.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 15-0 at Air Force Duals, including wins over NCAA competitors Chelsea Ambort and Heather Stephenson, both of UC-San Diego…missed NYU Duals due to participation in World Cup event…phenomenal 32-1 record at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins over NCAA competitors Ambort and Stephenson; Anastasia Ferdman and Keri Byerts (Penn State); Grace Wu and Kristin Howell (Temple); and Kaela Brendler (Ohio State)…season’s only loss was 5-3 bout against Ohio State’s Alexandra Obrazcova, who will also compete at the Championships…missed Notre Dame Duals and MFC Championships due to World Cup participation…Bronze medal at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to eventual champion Obrazcova in the semifinal, defeating teammate Nelip for third place.
Ewa Nelip (Women’s Epee; Fr., Katowice, Poland)
Impressive 45-6 (.882) freshman campaign placed her at fourth on the all-time Irish epeeist list for career winning percentage, behind Hurley, Claudette de Bruin, and Magda Krol…ninth-best all-time single season winning percentage…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: Missed Air Force Duals to fence in Polish circuit event, which she won…made Notre Dame debut at NYU duals, going 14-4, with wins over NCAA competitors Tess Finkel and Orianna Isaacson (Columbia-Barnard); Christa French and Joanna Niklinska (Northwestern); Kaela Brendler (Ohio State)…three of four losses at NYU came to NCAA competitors Tanya Novakovska and Reka Szele (St. John’s) and Alexandra Obrazcova (Ohio State)…31-2 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins over NCAA competitors Chelsea Ambort and Heather Stephenson (UC-San Diego); Grace Wu (Temple); Anastasia Ferdman (Penn State); Brendler and Obrazcova…missed Notre Dame Duals due to World Cup participation…2008 MFC Epee Champion…fourth place at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to Christa French in semifinal, and to teammate Hurley in bronze-medal bout.
Adrienne Nott (Women’s Foil; Jr., Pittsford, N.Y.)
69-10 (.873) junior year …170-22 (.885) career percentage mark good for 13th among all Irish women’s fencers, and tenth among foilists…69 wins tied for eighth in number of single-season wins with teammate Hayley Reese’s freshman year, and Myriah Brown’s 1996 campaign…sixth in all-time career wins among foilists… defending bronze-medalist at NCAA Championships…third trip to NCAAs…Two-time All-American.
2007 NCAAs: Bronze medalist, beating Penn State’s Tamara Najm 9-8 in overtime bronze medal bout…lost to eventual silver medalist Monika Golebiewski of St. John’s in semifinal…18-5 in round-robin, including wins over 2008 NCAA competitors Melissa Parker (Temple); Ilana Sinkin (Penn); Katia Larchanka (St. John’s); Samantha Nemecek (Northwestern); Arielle Pensler (Harvard); and May-Lynne Chen-Contino (UNC)…First team All-American.
2006 NCAAs: Sixth place at first NCAAs…15-8 in round-robin…Second team All-American
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: Bronze medalist at Max Garret Penn State Open, behind Ohio State’s Lindsay Knauer and Penn State’s Allison Glasser…15-0 at Air Force Duals, including wins over NCAA competitors Florence Lee and Emily Lipoma (UC-San Diego)…12-4 at NYU Duals, with wins over NCAA competitors Lidia Gocheva (Yale); Abigail Caparros-Janto (Columbia-Barnard); Nemecek; Golebiewski; Oksana Dmytruk (Ohio State)…losses to Knauer; Natalie Wang (Northwestern); Larchanka…20-6 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins against Lee and Lipoma; Glasser and Anne Jackson (Penn State)… losses to Melissa Parker (Temple); Dmytruk and Knauer; and Allison Putterman (Duke)…22-0 at Notre Dame Duals…fifth place at MFC Championships…Silver medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to Dmytruk in final.
Hayley Reese (Women’s Foil; Fr., Crestwood, Ky.)
69-12 (.852) freshman year good for 23rd best all-time winning percentage for Irish women fencers…69 wins tied for eighth in number of single-season wins with Nott’s 2008 season, and Myriah Brown’s 1996 season…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 15-0 at Air Force Duals, with wins over NCAA Competitors Florence Lee and Emily Lipoma (UC-San Diego)…11-6 at NYU Duals, including wins over NCAA Competitors Lidia Gocheva (Yale); Abigail Caparros-Janto (Columbia-Barnard); Katia Larchanka (St. John’s); Sophie Ciaravino (NYU); …losses to Samantha Nemecek and Natalie Wang (Northwestern); Monika Golebiewski (St. John’s); Oksana Dmytruk and Lindsay Knauer (Ohio State)…22-6 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins over NCAA competitors Lee and Lipoma; Anne Jackson (Penn State); Knauer…losses to Melissa Parker (Temple); Allison Glasser (Penn State); Dmytruk; May-Lynne Chen-Contino (UNC)…21-0 at Notre Dame Duals…Bronze medalist at MFC Championships…Bronze medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to teammate Nott in semifinal, and beating Nemecek for bronze.
Sarah Borrmann (Women’s Sabre; Fr., Beaverton, Ore.)
Stellar first year (73-7, .912) one for the Notre Dame record books, including tenth all-time in career wins, second in all-time career winning percentage, first in single-season wins, and third in single-season winning percentage…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 14-1 at Air Force Duals, with wins over NCAA competitor Sarah Parker (Stanford); only loss of week was to Stanford’s Eva Jellison…14-3 at NYU duals including wins over NCAA competitors Emily Jacobson (Columbia-Barnard); Martyna Wierczorek and Tania Dainovski (St. John’s); Alyxandra Mattison (NYU); Siobhan Byrne (Ohio State)…losses included Jackie Jacobson (Columbia-Barnard); Eileen Grench (Ohio State)… 28-3 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins over NCAA competitors Christine Griffith (Temple); Jessica-Kim Danh (Penn State); Grench; Parker and Jellison…losses included Jennifer Sawicki (UNC) and Byrne, both 5-4…17-0 at Notre Dame duals, including win over NCAA competitor Karolina Budna (Wayne State)…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…bronze medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to Byrne in semifinal and defeating Budna for bronze.
Eileen Hassett (Women’s Sabre; Fr., Beaverton, Ore.)
Strong freshman season (67-12, .848), good for fifth all-time winning percentage among sabreuses, second in single-season wins, and tenth in single-season winning percentage…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: Bronze medalist at Max Garret Penn State Open, behind Ohio State’s Siobhan Byrne and Eileen Grench…14-1 at Air Force duals, including win over NCAA competitor Sarah Parker (Stanford), and loss to Eva Jellison (Stanford)…13-5 at NYU Duals, including wins over NCAA competitors Jackie Jacobson (Columbia-Barnard); Martyna Wierczorek (St. John’s); Alyxandra Mattison (NYU)…losses to Emily Jacobson (Columbia-Barnard) and Tanya Dainovski (St. John’s), both by 5-4 scores, Grench, and Byrne; 26-3 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, including wins over NCAA competitors Christine Griffith (Temple); Grench and Byrne; Parker; Jennifer Sawicki (UNC)…losses to Jessica-Kim Danh (Penn State) and Jellison…14-3 at Notre Dame Duals, with loss to NCAA competitor Karolina Budna (Wayne State)…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…fifth place at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to teammate Borrmann in quarterfinal.
Greg Howard (Men’s Epee; Sr., Granger, Ind.)
Senior epee captain closed dual meet career with 47-10 (.824) season, 174-44 (.798) career mark…second on all-time career epee wins list, behind 2005 NCAA epee champion Michal Sobieraj’s 176…second trip to NCAAs.
2007 NCAAs: Eighth place, with 13-10 record in round-robin…wins over 2008 NCAA competitors Ben Wieder (Penn); Tommi Hurme (Princeton); Teddy Sherill (Harvard); Stan Vaksman (St. John’s), as well as teammate Kostka…second team All-American.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 9-1 at Air Force Duals, with wins over NCAA Competitors Peter French and Daniel Trapanti (Air Force)…only loss of weekend was to Stanford’s Clayton Kenney by 5-4 score…15-3 at NYU Duals, including wins over NCAA competitors Michael Pearce (Yale); Brent Kelly (Columbia); Vaksman and Misha Mokretsov (St. John’s); and Jason Pryor (Ohio State)…lost 5-4 to Sean Harder (Ohio State)…16-6 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, with wins over NCAA competitors James Moody (Penn State); Kenney; Pryor and Harder; and Benton Heismath (UNC)…lost to Arthur Urman (Penn State)…7-0 at Notre Dame Duals…14th place at MFC Championships…bronze medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to teammate Greg Schoolcraft in semifinal before beating Zingerman for bronze.
Karol Kostka (Men’s Epee; Jr., Krakow, Poland)
Solid junior season of 46-16 (.742)…Career record of 137-45 good for ninth in career wins for an epeeist…third trip to NCAAs.
2007 NCAAs: Eleventh place, 12-11 in round-robin…wins over 2008 NCAA competitors Michael Pearce (Yale); Peter French (Air Force); Tommi Hurme (Princeton); Teddy Sherill (Harvard)…honorable mention All-American.
2006 NCAAs: Eighteenth place, 8-15 in round-robin…wins over 2008 NCAA competitors Pearce; Jason Pryor (Ohio State); Hurme; James Moody (Penn State); and Clayton Kenney (Stanford).
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 10-2 at Air Force Duals, with wins over Air Force’s Peter French and Daniel Trapanti…loss to Stanford’s Clayton Kenney…12-5 at NYU Duals, including wins over Pearce (5-4); Columbia’s Brent Kelly; Ohio State’s Sean Harder and Jason Pryor…one-touch losses to Stan Vaksman and Misha Mokretsov of St. John’s…17-7 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, with wins over Kenney and Harder… losses to Penn State’s Moody and Arthur Urman and 5-4 losses to Pryor and Benton Heimsath (UNC)…7-2 at Notre Dame Duals…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…NCAA Midwest Regional champion, beating Zingerman in semifinal and teammate Greg Schoolcraft in final.
Steve Kubik (Men’s Foil, Fr., San Antonio, Tex.)
Steady progress led to strong finish, and qualification for NCAA Championships…began Irish dual meet career with 42-9 (.824) mark. Brother of Irish foil captain Mark Kubik, who finished 7th at 2007 NCAAs for second team All-American honors…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 9-3 at Air Force Duals, including wins over NCAA competitors Phil Arredondo and Richard Fulton (Stanford)…lost to UC-San Diego’s Benjamin Dorn…7-2 at NYU Duals, one loss to Ohio State’s Andras Horanyi…16-3 record at Northwestern Mega-Meet, with wins against Dorn; Arredondo; Dorian Cohen and Benjamin Hendricks (Duke); and Horanyi…10-1 at Notre Dame duals…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…bronze medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing 15-12 to teammate Schirtz in semifinal, and beating Ohio State’s Ben Parkins 15-13 for third.
Zach Schirtz (Men’s Foil, Fr., Rochester, N.Y.)
Freshman starter also finished strong, with big wins in big bouts punctuating NCAA qualification…47-11 (.810) dual meet record good for fourth-place in single-season wins for foilists…first trip to NCAAs.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: Silver medalist at Max Garret Penn State Open, losing to defending NCAA Champion Andras Horanyi of Ohio State…8-3 at Air Force Duals, with win over NCAA competitor Benjamin Dorn (UC-San Diego); tough losses to Richard Fulton and Phil Arredondo (Stanford)…10-2 at NYU Duals, with wins over Henry Kennard and Brendan Meyers (St. John’s)…losses to Nathaniel Botwinick (Yale) and Ben Parkins (Ohio State)… 15-6 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, with wins over Benjamin Hendricks and Dorian Cohen (Duke); and Parkins…losses to Nick Chinman and Sam Perkins (Penn State); Arredondo; and Horanyi…14-0 at Notre Dame Duals…fifth place at MFC Championships…silver medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing 15-14 heartbreaker to Horanyi in final.
Barron Nydam (Men’s Sabre, Fr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
Another freshman whose performance strengthened as the season wore on, ending up with NCAA bid…36-12 (.750) in freshman season…first trip to NCAAs
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: Fourth place at Max Garret Penn State Open…missed Air Force Duals while competing in World Cup event in Goppingen, Germany…13-5 at NYU Duals, with wins over Luther Clement and Charles Worsham (St. John’s); Mike Momtselidze and Sergey Smirnov (Ohio State)…losses to Alex Diacou (Columbia); Jared Hammond and Sam Roukas (NYU)…17-7 at Northwestern Mega-Meet, with wins over Bryan Kim (UC-San Diego); Franz Boghicev and Daniel Bak (Penn State); Lucas Janson (Stanford); Smirnov; and Kevin Zeichmann (UNC)…losses to Max Murphy (Stanford); Peter Truszkowski (Duke); Momtselidze; and Robert Zeichmann (UNC)…6-0 at Notre Dame Duals…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…bronze medalist at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to eventual champion Smirnov in semifinal before beating Wayne State’s Jakub Gibczynski for third.
Bill Thanhouser (Men’s Sabre, Jr., Portland, Ore.)
Junior captain added to accolades with 47-19 dual-meet record…career mark stands at 139-41…second trip to NCAAs.
2007 NCAAs: Sixth place, with 17-6 record in round-robin…wins over 2008 NCAA competitors Robert Zeichmann (UNC); Matt Kolasa (Penn); Jared Hammond and Sam Roukas (NYU); Sergey Smirnov and Mike Momtselidze (Ohio State)…second-team All-American.
2008 Season Recap and Highlights: 13-2 at Air Force Duals, with wins over NCAA competitors Max Murphy (Stanford) and Bryan Kim (UC-San Diego)…loss to Lucas Janson (Stanford)…9-7 at NYU Duals, with wins over Jared Hammond and Sam Roukas (NYU)…losses to Alex Diacou (Columbia); Charles Worsham and Luther Clement (St. John’s); Sergey Smirnov and Mike Momtselidze (Ohio State)…16-10 at Northwestern Mega-Meet with wins over Kim; Murphy; Peter Truszkowski (Duke); Robert and Kevin Zeichmann (UNC)…losses to Franz Boghicev and Daniel Bak (Penn State); Janson; Momtselidze and Smirnov…9-0 at Notre Dame Duals with win over Wayne State’s Jakub Gibczynski…bronze medalist at MFC Championships…fifth place at NCAA Midwest Regional, losing to eventual champion Smirnov in quarterfinals, before beating Momtselidze in fifth-place match.
The Host Website: Ohio State’s official host web site is located at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Live Scores: Championship results will be posted at www.ncaa.com and www.prisedefer.com.
— ND —