NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The top-ranked Notre Dame women’s fencing team and second-ranked men’s fencing team kick off the spring season with an east coast swing this weekend. The Irish start at the St. John’s Invitational on Saturday and then finished the weekend at the Philadelphia Invitational on Sunday.
WHAT: St. John’s Invitational
WHEN: Saturday, January 18
WHERE: Taffner Field House | Queens, N.Y.
LINKS: @NDFencing | Tournament Central
WHAT: Philadelphia Invitational
WHEN: Sunday, January 19
WHERE: Tse Center | Philadelphia, Pa.
LINKS: @NDFencing | Sunday Schedule
ST. JOHN’S INVITATIONAL
The Irish will start the weekend in Queens, N.Y. and will battle with some of the best teams in the nation. All six teams competing this weekend finished in the top six at the National Collegiate Fencing Championships. The Irish will square off with St. John’s, Harvard, Columbia, Penn State and Ohio State over the course of the day.
At last year’s St. John’s Invitational, the Irish men’s and women’s squad both posted a 4-1 record on the day.
Match Schedule
10 a.m. – vs. No. 5 Ohio State
11:15 a.m. – vs. No. 4/6 Penn State
12:30 p.m. – vs. No. 3/4 Harvard
2:15 p.m. – vs. No. 7/8 St. John’s
3:30 p.m. – vs. No. 1/3 Columbia
PHILADELPHIA INVITATIONAL
The Irish will conclude their east coast swing at day two of the Philadelphia Invitational on Sunday. Notre Dame will go up against Yale, NYU, the Drew men and Temple women, in addition to rematches with Columbia and St. John’s from Saturday.
Last season at the Philadelphia Invitational, the men went 3-0 while the women went 2-1.
Match Schedule
8:30 a.m. — vs. No. 8/NR Yale
9:45 a.m. — vs. NYU
11:00 a.m. — vs. No. 1/3 Columbia
1:00 p.m. — vs. No. 7/8 St. John’s
2:15 p.m. — men vs. Drew, women vs. Temple
IRISH IN THE POLLS
The first College Fencing 360 coaches poll of the season was released Friday morning and both Irish squads were well represented. The women’s team earned the No. 1 overall ranking while the men’s team was ranked second heading into this weekend’s competitions.
At the St. John’s Invitational on Saturday, every team the Irish will face is ranked in the initial coaches poll, including six squads ranked in the top-five.
LAST TIME OUT
The Irish kicked off the 2019-2020 schedule at the Elite Invitational in Philadelphia. The Irish women went 4-1 on the day, scoring victories over NJIT (20-7), Yale (15-12), Cornell (18-9) and Penn (15-12) and falling to Princeton (17-10). The foil squad led the way with a 29-16 record across the five matches, with Morgan Partridge (9-2) and Stefani Deschner (8-4) setting the pace.
Senior epeeist Amanda Sirico went 9-4 on the day, including 3-0 in the win over Cornell. In sabre, Regina O’Brien posted a 9-5 mark, while Reghan Ward went 9-6.
The men’s team was 3-2 with wins over NJIT (16-11), Princeton (16-11), and Penn (23-4) and dropping two tight matches to Yale (15-12) and Ohio State (15-12). The foil squad amassed a 30-15 record, while sabre went 28-17 on the day.
Sophomore sabreur Jared Smith started the season 10-4, while sophomore foilist Andrew Machovec (10-3) and freshman foilist Marcello Olivares (10-5) also hit the 10-win mark. Junior foilist Joseph Marino was 9-3, as well.
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