Jan. 21, 2012
JAMAICA, N.Y. – The University of Notre Dame fencing team registered four wins at the St. John’s Duals on Saturday at the Taffner Field House and Carnesecca Arena. Both the men and women recorded two wins on the day to finish with 2-3 records overall.
The women, who carried an 89-match winning streak into Saturday’s action, saw the streak come to a close in the opener against Ohio State after dropping a 15-12 decision to the sixth-ranked Buckeyes. The squad then fell to the top-ranked team in the country, Penn State, in their second match by an identical 15-12 count before claiming their first win of the day over seventh-ranked Harvard, 15-12.
With the score tied 12-12, Madison Zeiss (Los Angeles, Calif.) earned a 5-4 overtime victory over Alexandra Kiefer to push the contest to match point, before Darsie Malynn (Grapevine, Texas) closed it out with a 5-2 win over Katherine Chou. The final two matches of the day saw fifth-ranked St. John’s earn a 17-10 victory before Notre Dame ended the day with a convincing 19-8 triumph over Columbia.
Ashley Severson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) led the way for the women’s epee squad, finishing the day with a 12-3 record, including going a perfect 3-0 against both Harvard and Columbia. Zeiss, meawhile, led the way in foil with a record of 8-1 over the five matches, while Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.) paced the sabre unit with a 9-6 ledger.
On the men’s side, back-to-back losses to #5 Ohio State (15-12) and #1 Penn State (14-13) opened competition for the fourth-ranked Irish. Trailing 7-2 to the top-ranked Nittany Lions, the Irish battled back to take an 11-10 lead but were unable to keep the momentum, losing the next four bouts and allowing Penn State to clinch.
The team rebounded in the following two contests, however, taming third-ranked Harvard (15-12) before taking down sixth-ranked St. John’s by an identical score. Columbia prevailed over the Irish in the finale, 15-12, to concluded the day’s matches.
Enzo Castellani (Keller, Texas) enjoyed the brightest day on the men’s side, leading the overall team and the foil with a record of 12-2 after going 3-0 against both St. John’s and Columbia and 2-0 against Harvard. James Kaull (Washington, D.C.) led the epee squad with an 8-7 record, while Jason Choy (Basking Ridge, N.J.) had the best day of the sabre squad after finishing with a 6-6 record.
Notre Dame concludes its visit to New York on Sunday as it heads to the NYU Duals in New York, N.Y., for six matches. The first bout gets underway at 8:00 a.m. (ET). Be sure to check back with UND.com for a complete recap of the Irish following completion of the event.
St. John's Duals Results - Queens, N.Y.
Men (2-3):#5 Ohio State 15, #4 Notre Dame 12 (Epee: 5-4, Foil: 4-5, Sabre: 3-6)#1 Penn State 14, #4 Notre Dame 13 (Epee: 6-3, Foil: 4-5, Sabre: 3-6)#4 Notre Dame 15, #3 Harvard 12 (Epee: 4-5, Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 5-4)#4 Notre Dame 15, #6 St. John's 12 (Epee: 4-5, Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 5-4)Columbia 15, #4 Notre Dame 12 (Epee: 4-5, F: 5-4, Sabre: 3-6)
Women (2-3):#6 Ohio State 15, #3 Notre Dame 12 (Epee: 4-5, Foil: 3-6, Sabre: 5-4)#1 Penn State 15, #3 Notre Dame 12 (Epee: 2-7, Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 4-5)#3 Notre Dame 15, #7 Harvard 12 (Epee: 5-4, Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 4-5)#5 St. John's 17, #3 Notre Dame 10 (Epee: 2-7, Foil: 5-4, Sabre: 3-6)#3 Notre Dame 19, Columbia 8 (Epee: 5-4, Foil: 8-1, Sabre: 6-3)
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