Feb. 8, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Fighting Irish men’s and women’s fencing teams will host the 2008 Notre Dame Duals this weekend in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse on the Notre Dame campus. A field of 15 teams will participate over the course of the two-day event. The women will compete on Saturday (Feb. 9) starting at 8:00 a.m. (ET) and the men begin fencing at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 10).
The top-ranked Fighting Irish headline the women’s field, while No. 6 Northwestern enters competition as the only other ranked squad in the event on the women’s side. The third-ranked Irish are the only team in the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) poll for the men. The remainder of the field on both sides of competition is comprised of: Bowling Green, Chicago, Cleveland State, Detroit, Florida, Indiana, Lawrence, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Oberlin, Purdue, Wayne State and Wisconsin.
The Notre Dame women’s squad is off to a 20-2 start this season after registering a perfect 11-0 mark at last weekend’s Northwestern Duals. Sophomore Kelley Hurley leads the Notre Dame epeeists with a 47-1 record this season. However, she is currently fencing in Europe and will not be competing this weekend. Freshman Ewa Nelip has a 45-6 record in the epee, while junior Kimberlee Montoya is 44-15.
Leading the Irish in the foil is junior Adrienne Nott at 47-10 and freshman Hayley Reese at 48-12. In the sabre, freshman Sarah Borrmann has a 56-7 mark, while fellow freshman Eileen Hassett is 53-9.
The Fighting Irish men will bring a 17-4 record into this weekend’s home event. Last time out, Notre Dame went 8-2 at the Northwestern Duals. Senior Greg Howard has a team-best 40 (40-10) wins in the epee, followed closely by junior Karol Kostka, who has 39 (39-14).
In the foil, freshman Zach Schirtz carries a 33-11 record, while fellow freshman Steve Kubik (32-8) and junior Mark Kubik (31-7) have 32 and 31 victories, respectively. For the Irish sabre unit, junior Bill Thanhouser boasts a 38-19 record, while freshmen Avery Zuck (30-8) and Barron Nydam (30-12) both have 30 victories.
For more information on the 2008 Notre Dame Duals, including a complete schedule and live results, click here.
Notre Dame Schedule (Schedule is same for both the men and women)Round 1 - ND vs. IndianaRound 2 - ND vs. LawrenceRound 3 - ND vs. MichiganRound 4 - ND vs. Wayne StateRound 5 - ND vs. WisconsinRound 6 - ND vs. Michigan StateRound 7 - ND vs. Cleveland StateRound 8 - ND vs. DetroitRound 9 - ND vs. FloridaRound 10 (men's only - optional) - ND vs. Northwestern