NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s fencing team is heading north this weekend for the Northwestern Invitational. The women will be facing Northwestern twice and Lawrence twice at the tri-dual meet in Evanston. In the opening weekend of the season, the Irish women finished the weekend undefeated and look to keep the momentum up on Sunday.
WHAT: Northwestern Invitational
WHEN: Sunday, February 22
WHERE: Patten Gymnasium | Evanston, IL
LINKS: NU Epee | NU Foil | NU Sabre | LU Epee | LU Foil | LU Sabre | @NDFencing
Match Schedule
10 a.m. – Northwestern
11 a.m. – Northwestern
2:30 p.m. – Lawrence
3:15 p.m. – Lawrence
Last Time Out
The Irish kicked off the season in Columbus and did not skip a beat as both the men’s (5-0) and women’s (6-0) fencing squads finished the weekend undefeated. Both teams took down Penn State twice, host Ohio State, Air Force, NJIT and the women defeated Temple in the opening meet of the season.
The women’s foil team was unstoppable over the two days and finished with a 50-4 overall record through the four matches. Senior Stefani Deschner was unblemished with a 17-0 mark on the weekend which earned her ACC Women’s Fencer of the Week honors. As a whole the women won each match convincingly, allowing seven or less points in every match.
The men also took care of business in Columbus and finished with a 5-0 mark. Junior Jared Smith was the constant throughout the weekend for the men’s squad and finished 12-0 in his four matches. His performance earned him the ACC Men’s Fencer of the Week honor as the Irish swept both awards for the week.
Return of the Irish
A number of familiar faces returned to the strip for the Irish over the weekend after taking the previous season off. Nick Itkin, Ariel Simmons, Amita Berthier and Stephen Ewart all were back in action for the Irish in Columbus. Ewart tied Smith for the most wins on the men’s squad and he finished with a 12-3 record. Itkin also reached double digits for wins as he led the men’s foil squad with a 10-1 mark. Berthier was one of the many bright spots from the women’s foil squad as she finished 14-1 in her first meet back.
Newcomers Shine
Half a dozen fencers made their Irish debuts at the Ohio State Invitational and many of them got their careers off to a great start. Kaylin Hsieh led the way for the Irish freshmen with a 15-1 record over the weekend. Daria Kudriavtseva (13-4), Atara Greenbaum (12-6) and Luke Linder (10-1) all ended the weekend with double digit wins. Amanda Pirkowski (9-6) and Neve Harrison (1-3) were the others that made their debut at Ohio State.
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