Jan. 8, 2012
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Notre Dame men’s fencing team started its season with a bang, posting a perfect 6-0 record at the Western Duals on Saturday at Falcon Gym. Senior foilists Enzo Castellani and Reggie Bentley and sabreist Keith Feldman all reached the 100-win plateau for their careers at the event.
After starting off the day with an impressive 26-1 win over Cal Tech, that saw epee go 8-1 with foil and sabre going a perfect 9-0, the Irish reeled off a 23-4 decision over UC San Diego, aided by foil and sabre going 8-1 and epee going 7-2. The third match of the day saw Notre Dame claim its first perfect sheet as the squad took down Swarthmore 27-0.
Entering on a high note, the Irish faced their two toughest matches of the event against Air Force and Stanford. Though getting tested in both contests, Notre Dame emerged with identical 18-9 victories, with sabre (7-2) pacing the team in the Air Force match and foil (9-0) proving unbeatable in the Stanford contest. With only one match left on the day, the Irish posted their second perfect ledger in defeating Florida 27-0.
Notre Dame’s foil squad paced the team on the day, posting a total record of 50-4. Bentley led the way with a 15-1 record overall that saw him reach the 100-win plateau with his victory over Andrew Scheuermann of Stanford, 5-0. Castellani joined the fellow senior on the 100-win chart with his 5-0 victory over Isaac Madan of Stanford. For the day, Castellani finished with a perfect 11-0 record. Also competing in foil was Nickolas Kubik and Nicholas Crebs who finished with individual records of 13-3 and 11-0, respectively.
Sabre finished just behind the foil squad, concluding with a 48-6 record on the day. In finishing with a record of 11-2 at the tournament, Feldman himself reached the 100-win mark with a 5-1 decision over Stanford’s Cameron Lindsay. Jason Choy posted a perfect mark at the Western Duals, finishing 10-0. Kevin Hassett (11-1) and Alexander Coccia (10-2) joined the competitors to reach 10 wins on the day. William Meckling finished his first tournament with the Irish with a 6-1 record.
Epee rounded out the Irish dominance, finishing with a mark of 41-13. Michael Rossi led the way in terms of victories, posting a record of 11-4, while the remaining three Irish epeeists – James Kaull (10-3), Jack Piasio (10-4), Dale Purdy (10-2) – reached the 10-win platform.
The Irish take a two-week hiatus from NCAA action with a North America Cup (NAC) event occurring in Portland, Ore., from Jan. 13-16. The following weekend (Jan. 21-22) both the men’s and women’s teams head to New York to take part in the St. John’s Duals and the NYU Duals.
Western Duals Results - Falcon Gym - Colorado Spring, Colo.:Match 1: Notre Dame 26, Cal Tech 1 (Epee: 8-1, Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 9-0)Match 2: Notre Dame 23, UC San Diego 4 (Epee: 7-2, Foil: 8-1, Sabre: 8-1)Match 3: Notre Dame 27, Swarthmore 0 (Epee: 9-0, Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 9-0)Match 4: Notre Dame 18, Air Force 9 (Epee: 5-4, Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 7-2)Match 5: Notre Dame 18, Stanford 9 (Epee: 3-6, Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 6-3)Match 6: Notre Dame 27, Florida 0 (Epee: 9-0, Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 9-0)
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