Feb. 10, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 3 Fighting Irish men’s fencing team registered a perfect 10-0 record at the Notre Dame Duals on Sunday at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse. With the performance, Notre Dame’s record improved to 27-4 on the season.
The Irish opened the day with a 19-8 victory over Indiana before taking down Lawrence, 20-7. In the third round, Notre Dame bested Michigan, 17-10, and then captured a 24-3 triumph of Wayne State.
In the fifth round, the Fighting Irish topped Wisconsin 20-7 and then defeated Michigan State, 22-5, in the sixth round. The Notre Dame record moved to 7-0 on the day with a 24-3 victory over Cleveland State. The Irish downed Detroit, 26-1, in round No. 8 before ending the day with identical 19-8 victories over Florida and Northwestern.
Notre Dame posted a 75-15 record in the epee on Sunday. Senior Greg Howard was a perfect 7-0, while freshmen Chris Pfarr (15-1) and Andrew Seroff (15-2) both notched 15 victories. Fellow freshman Conor Gettings was 8-1 and junior Karol Kostka (7-2), freshman Greg Schoolcraft (7-3) and sophomore Rich Molina (7-2) all finished with seven wins apiece. Rounding out the Irish epeeists were junior Bill Ehrlich (4-1) and senior Matt Gasperetti (5-3).
Foilists compiled a 70-20 mark for the Fighting Irish, with freshman Zach Schirtz going undefeated at 14-0. Also posting unblemished marks was senior Jakub Jedrkowiak (8-0) and junior Mark Kubik (5-0). Freshman Steve Kubik went 10-1, while sophomore Xavier Lebec was 13-8 and his classmate Diego Silva was 12-8. Fellow sophomore Teddy Hodges registered an 8-3 record.
The Fighting Irish sabre unit went 65-25. Senior Tom Horton notched a group-best 13 wins against only one loss. Junior Bill Thanhouser and freshman Avery Zuck both went 9-0, while fellow rookie Barron Nydam was also perfect at 6-0. Completing the sabre contingent for Notre Dame was Alex Buell (12-5), Matt Pentz (11-10) and John Plunkett (5-9).
Both the Notre Dame men and women return to action at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, which will be held at Notre Dame on Feb. 23-24.
NOTRE DAME DUALSDay 2 (men's competition)Joyce Center Fieldhouse • Notre Dame, Ind.Sunday, Feb. 10
Notre Dame ResultsRound 1: ND 19, Indiana 8Round 2: ND 20, Lawrence 7Round 3: ND 17, Michigan 10Round 4: ND 24, Wayne State 3Round 5: ND 20, Wisconsin 7Round 6: ND 22, Michigan State 5Round 7: ND 24, Cleveland State 3Round 8: ND 26, Detroit 1Round 9: ND 19, Florida 8Round 10: ND 19, Northwestern 8