Jan. 20, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams are each ranked first in the opening United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) Coaches’ poll of the season. This is the first of three polls the USFCA will release during the NCAA fencing season, with the final poll to appear in March after the NCAA Regional Qualifiers.

On the men’s side, Notre Dame holds the top spot followed by Harvard and St. John’s in second and third, respectively, while Penn State and Harvard fall second and third on the women’s side of the poll.

Last season, the Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams debuted in second in the first USFCA poll. Both teams ended the year ranked as the top team in the rankings en route to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships at Harvard.

Notre Dame’s 2011 NCAA season gets underway this weekend in New York City as the Irish take part in the New York University Duals on Saturday at the Coles Sports and Recreation Center in New York, N.Y., before heading to the St. John’s Invite on Sunday in Queens, N.Y.

Men’s USFCA Poll (1/20/11):
1. Notre Dame
2. Harvard
3. St. John’s
4. Penn State
5. Ohio State
6. Princeton
7. Pennsylvania
8. Columbia
9. Duke
10. Stanford

Receiving Votes: North Carolina, Yale, Air Force, Sacred Heart, Wayne State (MI), San Diego, Brown, NYU, Brandeis, Johns Hopkins, MIT

Women’s USFCA Poll (1/20/11):
1. Notre Dame
2. Penn State
3. Harvard
4. Princeton
5. St. John’s
6. Columbia
7. Northwestern
8. Pennsylvania
9. Temple
10. Ohio State

Receiving Votes: Duke, Cornell, North Carolina, Air Force, Stanford, MIT, NYU, San Diego, Yale, Brown, Brandeis

–ND–