Jan. 27, 2018
Photo Gallery 
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The top-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams finished the first day of weekend competition undefeated, each going 3-0 on the opening day of the DeCicco Duals at the Castellan Family Fencing Center.
Detroit Mercy
Both Irish teams opened with dominant wins over Detroit Mercy, the women prevailing 26-1, while the men won 25-2.
The women were led by undefeated efforts by the foil and sabre teams. Foilists Reagan Fitzgerald, Beatrice Verrecchia and Mari Summers all went 3-0, while sabreuses Madeleine Gallagher, Natalie Disher and Christian Boitano followed suit. Epeeists Maria-Anne Roche and Katherine Clarke were also 3-0.
The men also went undefeated in foil and sabre. Alexander Ju, Thomas Murray and Matthew Tichachek went 2-0 in foil, as did Paul Cepak, Jack Rohan and Blake Murphy in sabre.
Wayne State
The Irish women followed with a 26-1 victory over the Warriors, while the men came up with a 24-3 win. Roche and Clarke remained undefeated in epee at 3-0 each, while Boitano and Disher also turned in 3-0 records in sabre. Sabrina Massialas paced the foil squad with a 3-0 mark.
The men’s foil and epee squads were 9-0 each in their win over the Warriors. Aidan Antekeier, Christian Aguilar and Rory Burke each went 3-0 in epee, while Tichacek performed in kind in foil.
Northwestern
In their lone ranked matchup of the weekend, the top-ranked Irish women defeated No. 8 Northwestern 17-10. The men won 22-5 in competition against the Wildcat men’s club team, as well.
Roche (epee) and Regina O’Brien (sabre) paced the women with 3-0 bout records, while epeeist Amanda Sirico and foilist Elyssa Kleiner each went 2-0. Epeeist Zach Zeller and foilists Robert Wong and Ju each went 3-0 in the men’s win over Northwestern.
Up Next
The DeCicco Duals will continue Sunday when Notre Dame welcomes nine additional clubs to the Castellan Family Fencing Center. Action will begin at 8 a.m. ET, with the last matches scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET.
DeCicco Duals
Jan. 27-28, 2018
Castellan Family Fencing Center
Notre Dame, Ind.
Men’s Results
No. 1 Notre Dame 25, Detroit Mercy 2
Epee: Nicholas Hanahan 2-0, Zachary Zeller 2-0, Aidan Antekeier 2-1, Christian Aguilar 1-0, Rory Burke 0-1
Foil: Alexander Ju 2-0, Thomas Murray 2-0, Matthew Tichacek 2-0, Robert Wong 1-0, Spicer Emge 1-0, Joseph Marino 1-0
Sabre: Paul Cepak 2-0, Jack Rohan 2-0, Blake Murphy 2-0, Ari Croitoru 1-0, Ben Scholl 1-0, David Brown 1-0
No. 1 Notre Dame 24, Wayne State 3
Epee: Antekeier 3-0, Aguilar 3-0, Burke 3-0
Foil: Tichachek 3-0, Murray 2-0, Nicholas Sloan 2-0, Marino 1-0, Ju 1-0
Sabre: Rohan 1-0, Cepak 1-0, Murphy 1-0, Croitoru 1-1, Scholl 1-1, Brown 1-1
No. 1 Notre Dame, Northwestern
Epee: Zeller 3-0, Antekeier 2-1, Hanahan 2-1
Foil: Wong 3-0, Ju 3-0, Marino 2-1
Sabre: Rohan 2-0, Murphy 2-0, Cepak 1-1, Croitoru 1-0, Scholl 1-0, Brown 1-0
Women’s Results
No. 1 Notre Dame 26, Detroit Mercy 1
Epee: Marie-Anne Roche 3-0, Katherine Clarke 3-0, Katherine Wallace 2-1
Foil: Reagan Fitzgerald 3-0, Beatrice Verrecchia 3-0, Mari Summers 3-0
Sabre: Madeleine Gallagher 3-0, Natalie Disher 3-0, Christina Boitano 3-0
No. 1 Notre Dame 26, Wayne State 1
Epee: Roche 3-0, Clarke 3-0, Wallace 2-1
Foil: Sabrina Massialas 3-0, Erica Tsai 2-0, Isabelle Elizondo 2-0, Elyssa Kleiner 1-0, Finnula Mageras 1-0
Sabre: Boitano 3-0, Disher 3-0, Gallagher 2-0, Reghan Ward 1-0
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Northwestern
Epee: Roche 3-0, Amanda Sirico 2-0, Julia Barry 2-1, Clarke 0-1
Foil: Kleiner 2-0, Massialas 2-1, Mageras 1-0, Tsai 0-1, Summers 0-1, Elizondo 0-1
Sabre: Regina O’Brien 3-0, Ward 2-1, Claudia Kulmacz 1-2
–ND–
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 men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.