July 19, 2016
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame head fencing coach Gia Kvaratskhelia has announced an additional five incoming freshman that will join the Irish fencing program this fall, joining four student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent in December 2015.
Jarred Gou (Saratoga, California/Saratoga), Arsenii Panteleev (Moscow), Zachary Zeller (Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman), Finnula Mageras (Darien, Connecticut/Darien) and Regina O’Brien (Wellesley, Massaschusetts/Wellesley) will join Ariel Simmons (Bellaire, Texas/Carnegie Vanguard), Christina Boitano (Portland, Oregon/Jesuit), Morgan Partridge (Swansea, Massachusetts/Providence Country Day) and Samantha Viqueira (Maplewood, New Jersey/Columbia) as Irish newcomers in August.
Jarred Gou (foil)
Gou will join the Notre Dame roster as yet another product of the Massialas Foundation fencing club in San Francisco, California, joining current Irish fencers Sabrina Massialas and Elyssa Kleiner and 2014 graduate Gerek Meinhardt as Massialas Foundation team members. Gou was a member of the 2014 Cadet World Championship Foil Team with current Irish sophomore Axel Kiefer, has participated in the last two Senior Men’s Foil World Cups (2014-15) and won gold with the U.S. foil team at the 2016 Junior Pan America Zonal Championships in Cancun, Mexico. Gou is the son of Heidi Ann Heaton Gou and the late Stephen Gou and the older brother of McConnell. He plans to enroll in the Mendoza College of Business.
Arsenii Panteleev (sabre)
Panteleev is believed to be the first Russian fencer to join the Irish fencing program, currently ranking third on the cadet circuit by the European Fencing Confederation. He owns a 168-46 record, having helped Russia to the men’s sabre 2015 and 2016 U17 European Championship titles. He finished 10th this April at the 2016 cadet World Championships in Bourges, France, and fifth as an individual at the U17 European Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia. Panteleev is the son of Pavel and Anastassia, and brother of Polina. He plans to study Chemical Engineering.
Zachary Zeller (epee)
A member of the Battle Born Fencing Club, Zeller joins the Irish having won both gold and silver at North American Cups over the last year. As a sophomore, Zeller’s team won gold at the Cadet World Cup in France, while he finished in the top eight at a Cadet World Cup in Austria. Zeller is a graduate of Bishop Gorman High School, the same high school as current Irish football players Nicco Fertitta and Alize Jones, and recent first-round NFL Draft pick Ronnie Stanley. He is the son of Rick and Lydia and the older bother to Kensington. Zeller plans to enroll in the Mendoza College of Business.
Finnula Mageras (foil)
Mageras is a product of the Fencing Academy of Westchester (Conn.) and a graduate of Darien High School (Darien, Connecticut). In 2014 her team placed second at the 2014 Summer Nationals, while they ascended to first at the 2015 Junior Olympics. Mageras scored her highest Division I finish in 2016 at the Division I Championships, finishing in 11th place. The daughter of James and Adrienne Mageras, she is also the sister of former Duke fencer Keara, and current Harvard fencer Stephen, and has another older sister, Muireann. She plans to enroll in the College of Science.
Regina O’Brien (sabre)
A member of the Zeta Fencing Studio, O’Brien joins the Irish having won three Junior Olympics gold medals in team sabre (2014-16) and a Junior Pan American team championship. O’Brien fenced with current Irish junior Francesca Russo at the Junior World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as well as at the Junior Pan American games. She is the daughter of Duncan and Marlene O’Brien, and is also the sister to Duncan, who fenced for Harvard, and Justin. Her great aunt, Sister Eileen Bradshaw, earned her Master’s in Mathematics from Notre Dame in 1967. O’Brien plans to study International Economics and German.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.