Zach Schirtz and the men's foil team claimed one of the record six gold medals that the Irish won during team competition at the Midwest Fencing Championships.

Irish Fencing Teams Both Sweep First Day Of Northwestern Duals

Jan. 31, 2010

Evanston, Ill. – It was a successful first day in the Windy City for the Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams, as both teams picked up sweeps during action at the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Ill. The men improve to 18-0, while the women run their mark to 17-0.

The Irish men’s team went 8-0 on the day, remaining undefeated on the season. The Irish scored wins over Detroit Mercy and Stanford in the morning session, before finishing the sweep with victories #10 Duke, #4 Princeton, Lawrence, Northwestern, arch-rival #3 Ohio State and UC San Diego. The tightest round of the day was with the third-ranked Buckeyes, but the Irish picked up a strong 8-1 mark at sabre to remain undefeated. The Irish men were led by perfect marks from junior foilist Zach Schirtz (Rochester, N.Y.), freshman foilist Grant Hodges (Salina, Kan.) and junior sabreist Avery Zuck (Beaverton, Ore.), while senior epeesit Kelly Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) went 16-0 to lead the women.

The Irish women’s team also completed a sweep of the day’s action. Notre Dame started off strong by scoring over 20 victories in wins over Fairleigh Dickinson, Stanford and UC San Diego. Things then got a little more interesting, when following a 17-10 win over Duke, Notre Dame needed overtime to beat Princeton, 15-12. The foil came up big in overtime, when after tying the weapon 12-12, Reese, Sarkisova and Malynn all scored overtime wins to capture the victory for the Irish. Notre Dame capped the day with wins over North Carolina and Johns Hopkins.

Both teams are both in the midst of record-setting regular-season win streaks. The men’s team has now won 62 straight matches, which is the fourth-longest streak in school history. They have a ways to go to continue moving up the list, but next in their sights is a 90-match streak from 2000-2004. The women’s streak improves to 41-straight victories, which is tied for the third-longest such run in program history. A victory in their first match on day two of the NU Duals will tie them for the second-longest streak (1986-88), while they continue to make a run at the longest streak, a 75-match run from 1993-1996.

Both teams return to the strips tomorrow at for day two of the Northwestern Duals. Notre Dame’s women’s team is scheduled to face the California Institute of Technology, seventh-ranked Temple, Lawrence, Wayne State, Detroit-Mercy, Cleveland State and sixth-ranked Ohio State. The men will fence Johns Hopkins, Cleveland State, the California Institute of Technology, Wayne State and North Carolina. To follow results, visit UND.com for a full recap of the weekend. Women’s updates will also be available through the day at NUSports.com.

Notes: Kelly Hurley now ranks tied for seventh in Irish history with 170 wins … Junior Sarah Borrmann’s (Beaverton, Ore.) five wins move her into sixth place on Notre Dame’s career sabre wins list with 117 … Junior Eileen Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.) moved up the same list, with 115 career victories putting her in seventh all-time.

Complete Notre Dame Women’s Results
Notre Dame 21, Fairleigh Dickinson 6 (E: 8-1, F: 7-2, S: 6-3)
Notre Dame 23, Stanford 4 (E: 7-2, F: 8-1, S: 8-1)
Notre Dame 21, UC San Diego 6 (E: 6-3, F: 8-1, S: 7-2)
Notre Dame 17, Duke 10 (E: 6-3, F: 5-4, S: 6-3)
Notre Dame 15, #9 Princeton 12 (E: 6-3, F: 5-4, S: 4-5)
Notre Dame 20, North Carolina 7 (E: 6-3, F: 8-1, S: 6-3)
Notre Dame 19, Johns Hopkins 8 (E: 5-4, F: 6-3, S: 8-1)

Complete Notre Dame Men’s Results
Notre Dame 18, Stanford 9 (E: 4-5, F: 9-0, S: 6-3)
Notre Dame 24, Detroit Mercy 3 (E: 9-0, F: 8-1, S: 7-2)
Notre Dame 17, #10 Duke 10 (E: 3-6, F: 7-2, S: 4-2)
Notre Dame 19, #4 Princeton 8 (E: 4-5, F: 6-3, S: 9-0)
Notre Dame 26, Lawrence 1 (E: 8-1, F: 9-0, S: 9-0)
Notre Dame 20, Northwestern 7 (E: 5-4, F: 8-1, S: 8-1)
Notre Dame 16, #3 Ohio State 11 (E: 3-6, F: 5-4, S: 8-1)
Notre Dame 20, UC San Diego 7 (E: 7-2, F: 7-2, S: 6-3)

–ND–