Feb. 25, 2005
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Fans who swing by the Joyce Center this weekend to watch the Irish basketball teams in action could have the chance to see one of the most accomplished and dominant student-athletes in Notre Dame history. It’s not Chris Thomas … and it’s not Jacqueline Batteast. In fact, this elite athlete will be competing in the other dome of the Joyce Center, doing battle on the north side in the fieldhouse.
This weekend’s two-day Midwest Fencing Conference Championships will mark the final home event for Notre Dame senior foilist Alicja Kryczalo, who in mid-March will be taking aim at her fourth NCAA title. Winning three NCAA titles already has placed Kryczalo alongside 1940 Sullivan Award winner and distance runner Greg Rice for the most career NCAA titles in Notre Dame history. If she wins again on March 20 in Houston, Texas, she will join an exclusive group of 29 previous Division I athletes who have won the same NCAA championship four times.
It’s a list that includes only two others fencers (men or women, with just one since the mid-1980s) and other such legendary names as distance runners Steve Prefontaine and Suzy Favor, wrestler Pat Smith, shot putter Michael Carter and a parade of swimmers who also starred on the Olympic stage (among them Mark Spitz, John Naber, Jenny Thompson, Mary T. Meagher, Pablo Morales and Ian Crocker, plus diver Troy Dumais; see full list below).
The Midwest Fencing Conference weekend, which includes team competition on Saturday, Feb. 26 (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) and the individual bouts the following day (8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.), also will serve as the final home event for 12 other seniors, most notably Kryczalo’s fellow three-times All-American – women’s foilist Andrea Ament (the ’02 and ’04 NCAA runner-up), women’s epeeist Kerry Walton (’02 NCAA champion) and men’s epeeist Michal Sobieraj (’03 NCAA runner-up) – and sabre captain Danielle Davis.
An impressive collection of Midwest fencing talent will be on display this weekend at the Joyce Center, with top contenders including the host Irish, defending NCAA champion Ohio State, the Northwestern women’s squad and the Wayne State men and women (most notably in epee).
Five of the six individual champions are set to defend their titles this weekend, while five other competitors are previous MFC champions, making the 2005 MFCs possibly the most competitive in the history of the event (with a total of 10 former champions set to do battle).
Returning champions from the 2004 MFCs include Sobieraj, Wayne State epeeist Anna Garina and three Ohio State fencers: senior foilist Hanna Thompson, junior sabre Adam Crompton and sophomore foilist Boaz Ellis (former OSU women’s sabre Louise Bond-Williams repeated as the MFC champ in ’04). Three Notre Dame sophomores – foilist Frank Bontempo and sabres Patrick Ghattas and Valerie Providenza – return after reaching their respective 2004 MFC title bouts.
Kryczalo lost to Thompson in the 2004 MFC final (after winning in ’02 and ’03) while Walton won the ’02 MFC title (she did not compete in ’04, due to an international tournament). Other past MFC champions who are slated to be in action this weekend at the Joyce Center include Wayne State senior epeeists Wojciech Dudek and Anna Vinnikov and Ohio State sabre Jason Rogers (each won in ’03). The presence of Walton, Vinnikov and Garina gives the 2005 MFCs the rare distinction of featuring three former champions of the women’s epee competition (plus two former champs in women’s foil, men’s epee and men’s sabre).
Other fencers to watch (most are former NCAA participants) include: Northwestern foilists Julia Foldi, Jessica Florendo and Christina Wang, OSU foilist Metta Thompson (twin sister of Hanna), OSU epeeists Kaela Brendler and Denis Tolkachev, Wayne State epeeist Marek Petraszek, NU epeeist Sharon Sullivan, ND sabres Matt Stearns, Angela Vincent and Mariel Zagunis (the ’04 Olympic gold medalist), OSU sabre Jason Paul and Northwestern women’s sabres Lauren Van Gieson, Mai Vu, Lauren Dunn and Emily Pasternak.
The Notre Dame fencing program again will provide “live stats” of the tournament at www.nd.edu/~fencing (postings will include team round-by-round scores and final individual standings). Check back to www.und.com throughout the weekend for additional information and recaps on the 2005 MFCs – and see more preview notes below:
FENCING CONTACTS – Media wishing to obtain information and photographs or submit interview requests for the Notre Dame fencing team should contact assistant sports information director Pete LaFleur or SID student assistant Greg Touney at 574-631-7516 (they also may be reached via e-mail, at lafleur.4@nd.edu and gtouney@nd.edu) … note that complete and updated stats and results for ND’s 2005 season will be placed on the fencing page at und.com.
IRISH WOMEN ASCEND TO TOP RANKING – The Notre Dame women’s fencing team (18-2 regular-season record) recently moved up a spot to the No. 1 ranking in the U.S. Fencing Coaches poll, followed by Ohio State, Penn State, Harvard, Columbia-Barnard, Northwestern, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Temple and St. John’s … the Notre Dame men (17-3) remain fourth in the poll, behind PSU, OSU and SJU and ahead of Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Air Force and Penn … the ND women bounced back from early losses at the NYU Duals (vs. CB and OSU) to post a string of impressive wins, over PSU, OSU and Northwestern.
SENIOR DAY AT THE JOYCE CENTER – Thirteen members of the Notre Dame fencing program will be competing at the Joyce Center for the final time this weekend: women’s foilists Andrea Ament, Alicja Kryczalo and Tiffany Muller; men’s foilist Paul Reyes; women’s epeeists Kerry Walton, Natalie Bustamante, Becca Chimahusky and Jocelyn Landgraf; men’s epeeists Michal Sobieraj and TJ McNally; women’s sabers Danielle Davis and Natalie Tenner; and men’s sabre John Espinosa.
RECAPPING THE 2004 MFC TEAM COMPETITION – The Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams, each competing minus a top fencer (epeeist Kerry Walton and foilist Derek Snyder), both finished 2nd to Ohio State in the 2004 team competition at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, held in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse …the women’s competition was tightly bunched, with OSU (490) edging the host Irish (485) and Northwestern (475) … OSU survived a showdown with ND in women’s sabre, 5-3 (if the Irish had won the 8th bout, it would have set up a final bout between OSU All-American Louise-Bond Williams and ND’s Valerie Providenza, the eventual NCAA champion) … ND also dropped close decisions to OSU in the finals of the women’s foil (5-4) and men’s epee (5-3) while losing to OSU in the semifinals of men’s foil and men’s sabre … the ND women’s epee squad lost to Northwestern in the semifinals.
2004 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships Team Results Men – 1. Ohio State 540; 2. Notre Dame 475; 3. Wayne State 450; 4. Michigan 395; 5. Northwestern 355; 6. Michigan State 350; 7. Chicago 305; 8. Purdue 280; 9. Lawrence 260; 10. Cleveland State 220; 11. Wisconsin 195; 12. Detroit 165.
Women – 1. Ohio State 490; 2. Notre Dame 485; 3. Northwestern 475; 4. Wayne State 430; 5. Michigan State 395; 6. Michigan 390; 7. Detroit 315; 8. Purdue 265; 9. Chicago 185; 10. Lawrence 170; 11. Cleveland State 165; 12. Wisconsin 75.
Overall – 1. Ohio State 1030; 2. Notre Dame 960; 3. Wayne State 880; 4. Northwestern 830;5. Michigan 785; 6. Michigan State 745; 7. Purdue 545; 8. Chicago 490; 9. Detroit 480; 10. Lawrence 430; 11. Cleveland State 385; 12. Wisconsin 270.
Notre Dame’s 2005 MFC Squad Results
Men’s Epee – 2nd, lost to Ohio State in final
Men’s Foil – 3rd, lost to OSU in semifinals before beating Michigan
Men’s Sabre – 3rd, lost to OSU in semifinals before beating Northwestern
Women’s Epee – 3rd, lost to Northwestern in semifinals before beating Michigan
Women’s Foil – 2nd, lost to OSU in final
Women’s Sabre – 2nd, lost to OSU in Final
RECAPPING THE 2004 MFC INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION – Notre Dame junior Michal Sobieraj took home the men’s epee trophy while Irish fencers reached the final in four of the five others weapons, in action at the ’04 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships … Sobieraj – who did not fence in the 2002 MFCs (due to injury) and finished outside the top eight in ’03 – defeated Wayne State’s Marek Petraszek (a fellow native of Poland) in a 15-9 final to take home the ’04 trophy … Sobieraj earlier bested another Polish fencer, WSU’s Wojciech Dudek, in the semifinals (15-11) … the Irish men also posted finalists in the other two weapons, with freshman Frank Bontempo making an impressive run to the foil final (losing 15-5 to Ohio State’s Boaz Ellis, the eventual NCAA champ) while his classmate Patrick Ghattas dropped a 15-6 sabre final to defending NCAA champ Adam Crompton of Ohio State … ND junior Alicja Kryczalo nearly claimed her third MFC title, losing a 15-12 final to OSU’s Hannah Thompson … freshman Valerie Providenza also reached the final in sabre, dropping a 15-8 bout to OSU’s Louise-Bond Williams (the ’02 NCAA runner-up) … Kryczalo advanced to the final with a 15-8 semifinal win over her classmate Andrea Ament .. freshman Amy Orlando nearly battled her way into the epee final, losing a 14-11 bout to Wayne State’s Anna Garina in the semifinals … Garina then defeated her teammate Anna Vinnikov to claim the epee title (15-11) … there nearly was an all-Notre Dame final in men’s sabre but freshman Matthew Stearns was unable to overcome Crompton, brother of former ND All-America sabre Andre Crompton, in a 15-11 semifinal.
Women’s Foil – 1. Hanna Thompson (OSU); 2. Alicja Kryczalo (ND); 3. Julia Foldi (NU) and Andrea Ament (ND); 5. Jessica Florendo (NU); 6. Christina Wang (NU); 7. Lindsay Howard (WSU); 8. Elisabeth Cuming (Chicago); 9. Laura Chapin (MSU); 10. Maggie Jordan (ND); 11. Alana Baxter (Lawrence); 12. Elizabeth Emilian (ND) … Quarterfinals: Thompson def. Howard (15-7), Foldi def. Florendo (15-5), Kryczalo def. Wang (15-4), Ament def. Cuming, (15-4) … Semifinals: Thompson def. Foldi (15-11) … Kryczalo def. Ament (15-8) … Final: Thompson def. Kryczalo, 15-12.
Men’s Foil – 1. Boaz Ellis (OSU); 2. Frank Bontempo (ND); 3. Richard Spicer (OSU) and Alexander Law (OSU); 5. Forest Walton (ND); 6. Nathan Weir (OSU); 7. Sean O’Brien (Michigan); 8. Eamon Murphy (ND); 9. Matt Robinson (NU); 10. Mike Merker (Cleveland State); 11. Matt Borders (MSU); 12. Kin Lau (MSU) … Quarterfinals: Ellis def. O’Brien (15-3), Spicer def. Weir (15-8), Bontempo def. Walton (15-9), Law def. Murphy (15-9) … Semifinals: Ellis def. Spicer (15-4), Bontempo def. Law (15-10) … Final: Ellis def. Bontempo, 15-5.
Women’s Epee – 1. Anna Garina (WSU); 2. Anna Vinnikov (WSU); 3. Amy Orlando (ND) and Alexandra Shklar (OSU); 5. Rebecca Chimahusky (ND); 6. Sharon Sullivan (NU); 7. Kelsey Nenchek (NU); 8. Sarah Gravlee (NU); 9. Caitlin O’Sullivan (OSU); 10. Kaela Brendler (OSU); 11. Talia Viggers (OSU); 12. Courtney DuBois (NU) … Quarterfinals: Garina def. Gravlee (15-4), Orlando def. Chimahusky (15-7), Vinnikov def. Sullivan (15-10) Shklar def. Nenchek (15-4) … Semifinals: Garina def. Orlando (14-11), Vinnikov def. Shklar (15-10) … Final: Garina def. Vinnikov, 15-11.
Men’s Epee – 1. Michal Sobieraj (ND); 2. Marek Petraszek (WSU); 3. Wojciech Dudek (WSU) and Brian Gross (OSU); 5. Spencer Jones (OSU); 6. Denis Tolkachev (OSU); 7. Aaron Adjemian (ND); 8. Christian Rivera (OSU); 9. Tim Levar (Cleveland State); 10. Matt Bruno (Purdue); 11. Adam Maczik (Michigan); 12. Jesse Laeuchli (ND) … Quarterfinals: Dudek def. Jones (14-13), Sobieraj def. Tolkachev (15-10), Petraszek def. Adjemian (15-4), Gross def. Rivera (15-13) … Semifinals: Sobieraj def. Dudek (15-11), Petraszek def. Gross (15-12) … Final: Sobieraj def. Petraszek, 15-9.
Women’s Sabre – 1. Louise Bond-Williams (OSU); 2. Valerie Providenza (ND); 3. Syvenna Siebert (OSU) and Lauren Van Gieson (NU); 5. Destanie Milo (ND); 6. Lauren Dunn (NU); 7. Emily Pasternak (NU); 8. Danielle Davis (ND); 9. Julie Crimmons (Michigan); 10. Angela Vincent (ND); 11. Kelly Lone (Ohio State); 12. Stepanie Eustis (NU) … Quarterfinals: Bond-Williams def. Pasternak (15-5), Siebert def. Davis (15-9), Providenza def. Dunn (15-5), Van Gieson def. Milo (15-11) … Semifinals: Bond-Williams def. Siebert (15-11), Providenza def. Van Gieson (15-6) … Final: Bond-Williams def. Providenza, 15-8.
Men’s Sabre -1. Adam Crompton (OSU); 2. Patrick Ghattas (ND); 3. (tie) Jason Paul (OSU), Matthew Stearns (ND); 5. Nicholas Diacou (ND); 6. Brian Dosal (ND); 7. Bobby Smith (WSU); 8. James Zirkle (NU); 9. Chris Williams (WSU); 10. Alex Schumacher (ND); 11. John Espinosa (ND); 12. Zachary Parkins (OSU) … Quarterfinals: Ghattas def. Zirkle (15-8), Paul def. Diacou (15-6) Stearns def. Dosal (15-6), Crompton def. Smith (15-5) … Semifinals: Ghattas def. Paul (15-14), Crompton def. Stearns (15-11) … Final: Crompton def. Ghattas, 15-6.
2004 MFC Champions
Men’s Epee – Michal Sobieraj (ND) def. Marek Petraszek (WSU), 15-9)
Men’s Foil – Boaz Ellis (OSU) def. Frank Bontempo (ND) 15-5
Men’s Sabre – Adam Crompton (OSU) def. Patrick Ghattas (ND) 15-6
Women’s Epee – Anna Garina (WSU) def. Anna Vinnikov (WSU) 15-11
Women’s Foil – Hanna Thompson (OSU) def. Alicja Kryczalo (ND) 15-12
Women’s Sabre – Louise Bond-Williams (OSU) def. Valerie Providenza (ND),15-8
Notre Dame Individual Finishes at the 2004 MFCs
Men’s Epee – Michal Sobieraj (1), Aaron Adjemian (7), Jesse Laeuchli (12)
Men’s Foil – Frank Bontempo (2), Forest Walton (5), Eamon Murphy (8)
Men’s Sabre – Patrick Ghattas (2), Matt Stearns (3), Nicholas Diacou (5), Brian Dosal (6), Alex Schumacher (10), John Espinosa (11)
Women’s Epee – Amy Orlando (3), Rebecca Chimahusky (5)
Women’s Foil – Alicja Kryczalo (2), Andrea Ament (3), Maggie Jordan (10), Elizabeth Emilian (12)
Women’s Sabre – Valerie Providenza (2), Destanie Milo (5), Danielle Davis (8), Angela Vincent (10)
Notre Dame 2005 Regular-Season Results vs. Top MFC Contenders
Women’s Foil – beat Ohio State 5-4 (at NYU) and 6-3 (at ND), beat Northwestern 8-1 (at ND)
Men’s Foil – lost to Ohio State 2-7 (at NYU) and 4-5 (at ND)
Women’s Epee – lost to OSU 4-5 (at NYU), beat OSU 6-3 (at ND), beat Northwestern 5-4 and Wayne St. 6-3 (both at ND)
Men’s Epee – beat Ohio State 6-3 (at NYU) and 7-2 (at ND), beat Wayne State 5-4 (at ND)
Women’s Sabre – lost to Ohio State 4-5 (at NYU and ND), beat Northwestern 7-2 (at ND)
Men’s Sabre – lost to Ohio State 2-7 (at NYU) and 0-9 (at ND)
Scouting the Top 2005 MFC Contenders (based on results vs. the ND fencers):
Women’s Foil
Hanna Thompson (Ohio State, senior) – The only fencer ever to prevent Notre Dame senior Alicja Kryczalo from winning a postseason college tournament, thanks to her 15-12 win in the 2004 MFC title bout … Kryczalo has compiled a 9-4 record in college bouts vs. her top rival (6-3 postseason) while her classmate Andrea Ament is 6-5 vs. the lefthanded Thompson … she split vs. Kryczalo (3-2, 3-4) and Ament (3-5, 4-2) at both the NYU Duals and the ND Duals while beating the third Irish fencer at both events (5-1 vs. Rachel Cota at NYU, 5-4 vs. fellow freshman Melanie Bautista at ND) … the three-time All-American’s 3rd-place finish at the ’04 NCAAs included 5-2 losses to Ament and Kryczalo in the round-robin (Ament then rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat her in the 7-6 NCAA semifinal that featured a rare overtime finish) … Kryczalo’s other wins vs. Hanna include the ’02 NCAAs (5-2 round-robin; 15-5 semifinal), the ’03 NCAAs (5-4), the ’02 Regional fenceoff (5-3), the ’03 Regional round-robin, the ’02 OSU Duals (5-1) and the ’03 ND Duals (5-4) … her other wins over Kryczalo have come in the ’02 Regional round-robin and the ’04 MFC team championship … Ament also owns wins over her from the ’02 NCAAs (5-2), the ’03 NCAAs (5-4) and the ’02 ND Duals (5-2), plus losses at the ’02 and ’03 Regionals, the ’04 MFC team bout and the ’03 ND Duals (3-5) … not included in the above bouts is Thompson’s 10-9 overtime win vs. Kryczalo in the semifinals of the Penn State Open in the fall of ’04 (halting her quest for a rare fourth title … Hanna did not fence at the ’04 ND Duals or ’04 Regional (due to injury) … she defeated Northwestern’s Julia Foldi in the ’04 MFC semifinals (15-11).
Metta Thompson (Ohio State, senior) – Hanna’s twin sister has turned in a solid career in her own right, with the three-time All-American placing 5th at the NCAAs in ’02, ’03 and ’04 … Kryczalo is nearly unbeaten vs. Metta (11-1) while Ament holds a 7-4 edge in their college bouts … gained a split vs. the top ND pair at the 2005 NYU Duals (0-5 vs. Kryczalo, 5-2 vs. Ament) but dropped both bouts at the ND Duals (both 2-5) … also beat Cota at NYU (5-1) and Bautista at ND (3-2) … Kryczalo’s other wins vs. Metta include the ’02-’04 NCAAs (5-1, 5-4, 5-2), the ’02-’04 Regionals (5-2 in ’04), the ’04 MFC team final, the ’02 OSU Duals (5-2) and ’03 ND Duals (5-4), with her only loss coming at the ’04 ND Duals (3-5) … Ament’s other wins vs. Metta include the ’02 NCAAs (5-4), the ’03 and ’04 Regionals, and the ’04 MFC team final, plus the ’02 OSU Duals (5-1) and the ’04 ND Duals … her other losses to Thompson came at the ’03 NCAAs (4-5), the ’04 NCAAs (3-5) and the ’03 ND Duals (4-5)… Metta did not compete in the ’04 MFC individual bouts.
Other ND-OSU Foil Bouts – Kryczalo swept Alexandra DiCerbo at NYU (5-1) and ND (5-2), as did Ament (5-0, 5-0) and Bautista (5-0, 5-3).
Jessica Florendo (Northwestern, sophomore) – The promising youngster placed 13th at the 2004 NCAAs but was swept by the Irish fencers at the 2005 ND Duals, losing 5-2 bouts to Kryczalo and Ament (also 5-4 vs. Bautista) … Kryczalo is 7-1 vs. Florendo in college bouts … Florendo managed just one touch vs. the ND veterans at the ’04 NCAAs (0-5 vs. Ament, 1-5 vs. Kryczalo) … her freshman season also included being swept by the Irish fencers at the ’04 ND Duals (0-5 vs. Kryczalo, 3-5 vs. Ament) and in the MFC team semifinals (both 2-5), with Kryczalo also beating Florendo in the ’04 MFC individual competition (5-2) … those two then met three times at the ’04 Regional, with Kryczalo winning a 5-1 prelim bout and Florendo adding a 5-1 win before Kryczalo won a 5-3 fenceoff for the title … Florendo lost to her teammate Julia Foldi in the 2004 MFC quarterfinals (5-15).
Julia Foldi (Northwestern, senior) – The three-time All-American (8th at ’04 NCAAs) has waged plenty of battles with the Notre Dame seniors, including a 5-2 win over Kryczalo and 5-0 loss to Ament at the 2005 ND Duals (she also edged Bautista, 5-4) … recent college bouts have seen Kryczalo and Ament post 7-1 records vs. Foldi (37-19 point edge for Kryczalo, 34-15 for Ament) … Kryczalo owns three NCAA wins over Foldi (5-0 in ’02, 5-4 in ’03, 5-2 in ’04) while Ament has a 2-1 record vs. her in the NCAA round-robin (5-1 in ’02, 4-5 in ’03, 5-0 in ’04) … Ament beat Foldi at the ’04 Regional (5-2) while Kryczalo beat her by the same score in the MFC individual bouts … both ND fencers also beat her in the MFC team semifinals (Kryczalo 5-2, Ament 5-3) … Ament notched a 5-2 win over Foldi at the Northwestern Duals in the fall of ’03 and the Irish later swept Folid at the ’04 ND Duals (Ament 5-2, Kryczalo 5-4) … the ’03 ND Duals saw Kryczalo shut out Foldi (5-0) … Foldi beat her teammate Jessica Florendo in the 2004 MFC quarterfinals (15-5) but lost to Ohio State’s Hanna Thompson in a 15-11 semifinal.
Christina Wang (Northwestern) – The 2003 NCAA participant was swept by the Irish fencers at the 2005 ND Duals (4-5 vs. Kryczalo, 3-5 vs. Ament and Bautista) … she placed 6th at the 2004 MFCs, after losing a 15-4 quarterfinal to Kryczalo … Kryczalo beat Wang at the Northwestern Duals in the fall of ’03 and the Irish then swept her at the ’04 ND Duals (Kryczalo 5-0, Ament 5-1) … her ’03 NCAA bouts included a 5-0 loss to Kryczalo and 5-2 defeat vs. Ament.
Men’s Foil
Boaz Ellis (Ohio State, sophomore) – The defending NCAA champion and Israel native swept the Irish fencers at both 2005 regular-season events, besting sophomore Frank Bontempo (5-2) and freshmen Jakub Jedrkowiak (5-1) and Diego Quinonez (5-0) at the NYU Duals before beating Bontempo by the same 5-2 score and topping the Irish freshmen (both 5-1) at the ND Duals … Ellis also beat Bontempo in the 2004 MFC title bout (15-5) and in the ’04 NCAA round-robin (5-0) … Jedrkowiak’s runner-up finish at the Penn State Open in the fall of ’04 included a 15-10 win over Ellis in the semifinals (he lost to Penn State’s Non Panchan, the ’02 and ’03 NCAA champ, in the title bout).
Other ND-OSU Foil Results – Bontempo lost to Kevin Stuart at the NYU Duals (3-5) and ND Duals (2-5) but beat William Jeter at both events (5-4 in each) … Jedrkowiak swept Stuart (5-1, 5-2) and Jeter (5-2, 5-2) … Quinonez beat Stuart at the ND Duals (2-1) after losing to him at NYU (3-5) … Jeter swept Quinonez (5-1, 4-3).
Women’s Epee
Kaela Brendler (Ohio State, sophomore) – The NCAA Tournament veteran scored a key sweep of the ND fencers at the NYU Duals, besting 5th-year standout Kerry Walton (5-1) and senior Jocelyn Landgraf (5-2) while beating sophomore Amy Orlando in a bout that ended 4-1 … the Irish fencers turned the tables at the ND Duals, with Walton (5-2) and Orlando (4-3) avenging their losses while senior Becca Chimahusky won a 2-1 defensive battle … Brendler’s ’04 and ’05 bouts in college events vs. the ND fencers include a 3-2 record vs. Walton and 4-2 vs. Orlando … Brendler split a pair of 5-4 bouts vs. the Irish fencers (beat Orlando, lost to Walton) as part of her All-America showing (7th place) at the 2004 NCAAs … Walton lost to Brendler at the ’04 ND Duals and again at the Regional (both 1-5) … Orlando also lost to Brendler at the ’04 ND Duals (3-4), followed by a win in the MFC team bout (5-1) and another loss at the Regional (2-5) … Orlando also owns a recent win over Brendler at the North American Cup event in Richmond, Va. … Brendler finished just 10th at the 2004 MFCs.
Other ND-OSU Epee Bouts – Walton beat Caitlain O’Sullivan (5-1) and Leslie Lampman (5-4) at the NYU Duals, adding a 5-3 win over Lampman at the ND Duals … Orlando split vs. those fencers at NYU (3-5 vs. O’Sullivan, 4-3 vs. Lampman) before besting converted sabre All-American Marguerite Plekhanov (3-2) and Lampman (5-1) at the ND Duals.
Anna Garina (Wayne State, junior) – The 6-foot-1 Ukranian and defending NCAA champ beat Walton (3-2) but lost to Orlando (4-5) at the ND Duals, also adding a 5-2 win over Chimahusky … the 2003-04 season saw Garina edge Walton for the Penn State Open title (15-14) before beating her in the ’04 NCAA round-robin (5-1) and the title bout (15-10) … in addition to her recent win over Garina, Orlando also beat her at the ’04 NCAAs (3-2), after Garina won their ’04 MFC semifinal bout (14-11) … Garina’s ’04 MFC title included a 15-11 title bout vs. her teammate Anna Vinnikov.
Sharon Sullivan (Northwestern, junior) – The two-time NCAA participant beat her club teammate Orlando at the 2005 ND Duals (5-1) but lost to Chimahusky and fellow senior Natalie Bustamante in 5-2 bouts … during the past two seasons, Sullivan has split six bouts vs. Orlando in college bouts (Walton is 6-0 vs. Sullivan during college events spanning the past three seasons) … Orlando split vs. Sullivan in the ’03-’04 regular season (4-5 at NU Duals; 5-3 at ND Duals), followed by a 5-1 win in the MFC team bout, a 3-2 loss in the Regional and a 5-4 overtime win in the NCAAs … during the 2003-04 season, Walton beat Sullivan at the NU Duals (5-2), the ND Duals (5-0), the Regional (5-2) and the NCAAs (5-1), after earlier beating her in the ’03 regular season (5-4) and at the ’03 NCAAs (5-0) … Sullivan – who placed 21st at the ’04 NCAAs – totaled just nine points in those six bouts vs. Walton (two 5-0, one 5-4), in contrast to her evenly-matched six bouts vs. Orlando that have included 22 touches for Orlando and 21 for Sullivan … Sullivan placed 6th at the 2004 MFCs, after dropping a 15-10 quarterfinal to Wayne State’s Anna Vinnikov.
Anna Vinnikov (Wayne State, senior) – The three-time NCAA Tournament veteran and Israel native lost 5-4 bouts to Walton and Orlando at the 2005 ND Duals, with a 5-3 win over Chimahusky … her 16th-place showing at the ’04 NCAAs included wins over Walton (5-4) and Orlando (5-1) … Vinnikov and Walton had some memorable postseason bouts in 2003, with Vinnikov winning the ’03 MFC title bout (15-10 vs. Walton) while the finished in a three-way tie with former ND fencer Meagan Call atop the standings at the ’03 Midwest Regional (Call won the fenceoff and Walton was 2nd, thanks to a 5-2 win over Vinnikov) … Vinnikov had defeated Walton earlier in the ’03 Regional and went on to beat her in the ’03 NCAAs (5-3) … Vinnikov actually owns a 3-0 record vs. Walton at the NCAAs, including 5-4 in ’02 (when Walton went on to win the title) … they also met recently at the North American Cup in Richmond, with Walton picking up the victory … Vinnikov beat Northwestern’s Sharon Sullivan in the ’04 MFC quarterfinal (15-10) and Ohio State’s Alexandra Shklar in the semifinals (15-10) before losing to her teammate Anna Garina in the 15-11 final.
Men’s Epee
Denis Tolkachev (Ohio State, sophomore) – The native of St. Petersburg, Russia, lost to ND’s Michal Sobieraj in the 2004 NCAA third-place bout … he went 1-2 vs. the ND epeeists at the 2005 NYU Duals, beating freshman Greg Howard (5-1) but losing to Sobieraj (2-5) and sophomore Aaron Adjemian (3-5) … Tolkachev then won 2-of-3 vs. the Irish at the ND Duals, besting Adjemian (5-3) and Howard (5-3) but again losing to Sobieraj (2-5) … in the 2004 NCAA round-robin, Tolkachev posted a 5-1 win over Sobieraj, who then won the rematch in the 3rd-place bout (15-8) … Tolkachev earlier had won the 2004 Midwest Regional title while Sobieraj was 2nd (8-3 record) … Sobieraj beat Tolkachev in the quarterfinals of the 2004 MFCs (15-10), en route to winning the title.
Other ND-OSU Epee Results – Sobieraj lost to Christian Rivera (3-5) and beat former NCAA entrant Brian Gross (5-2) at NYU while Adjemian swept them at NYU (5-4 vs. Gross, 5-1 vs. Rivera) and Howard beat Gross 5-0 (4-5 loss to Rivera).
Marek Petraszek (Wayne State, sophomore) – The Poland native beat his countryman Sobieraj at the 2005 ND Duals (4-3) en route to sweeping the Irish, with 5-1 wins over Howard and sophomore Patrick Gettings … Petraszek edged Sobieraj at the 2004 NCAAs (5-4) as part of his 7th-place showing but Sobieraj earlier had defeated his countryman in the 2004 MFC title bout, pulling away from a 6-6 tie for the 15-9 win.
Wojciech Dudek (Wayne State, senior) – Yet another top epeeist from Poland, he was able to beat Gettings at the 2005 ND Duals (5-1) but lost to Sobieraj and Howard (both 2-5) … Sobieraj lost to Dudek at the NCAAs during their freshman seasons (3-5, in 2002) but he beat Dudek at the ’04 NCAAs (5-1), with Dudek finishing 12th at the ’04 NCAAs for All-America honors … Sobieraj earlier defeated Dudek in the 2004 MFC team semifinals (5-2) and in the individual semifinals (15-11) en route to winning the title (he also beat Dudek in the ’04 MFC team competition) … as a sophomore in 2003, Sobieraj beat Dudek at the ND Duals (5-4).
Women’s Sabre
Lauren Van Gieson (Northwestern) – The 14th-place finisher at the ’04 NCAAs was swept at the 2005 ND Duals by the Irish (2-5 vs. freshman Mariel Zagunis, 1-5 vs. sophomore Valerie Providenza, 4-5 vs. sophomore Angela Vincent) … she lost to Providenza in the ’04 MFC semifinals (6-15) and in the NCAAs (0-5), but beat Vincent in a 5-2 NCAA bout.
Mai Vu (Northwestern) – The 18th-place finisher at the ’04 NCAAs beat Providenza at the 2005 ND Duals (5-4) but lost to Zagunis (0-5) and Vincent (4-5) … her ’04 NCAA bouts included a 5-2 loss to Providenza and 5-3 win over Vincent (she also lost 5-3 to Vincent t the ’04 Regional) .. Vu’s teammate and former NCAA participant Lauren Dunn was swept by the Irish fencers at the ’05 ND Duals (1-5 vs. Zagunis, 3-5 vs. Providenza and Vincent) … Providenza also beat Dunn at the ’04 ND Dials (5-2) and in the ’04 MFC quarterfinals.
ND-OSU Sabre Bouts – Zagunis swept Siobhan Byrne (5-3), Amelia Gaillard (5-1) and Eileen Grench (5-1) at NYU and again at ND (5-3, 5-2, 5-2) … Providenza beat Gaillard at NYU (5-4) but lost to Byrne (2-5) and Grench (4-5) before beating Byrne at the ND Duals (5-3) but losing to Gaillard (2-5) and again to Grench (2-5) … Vincent’s ’05 regular season included a pair of 5-4 losses to Byrne, two 5-3 losses to Grench and two losses to Gaillard (2-5 at NYU, 4-5 at ND) … Providenza’s first-place finish at the Penn State Open in the fall of ’04 included a win over Byrne … Providenza also took home the 2004 Junior Olympics gold medal after beating Gaillard in the semifinal (15-14) and Grench in a 15-9 final.
Men’s Sabre
Adam Crompton (Ohio State, junior) – The two-time defending NCAA champion did not face the ND fencers at the NYU Duals (due to a black card earlier in the day) but he swept the Irish at the ND Duals, topping sophomore Patrick Ghattas and junior Nicholas Diacou in 5-2 bouts while posting a 5-1 win over sophomore Matt Stearns … Crompton defeated Stearns in the semifinals (15-11) and Ghattas in the final (15-6) of the 2004 MFCs and went on to sweep them in the ’04 NCAA round-robin (5-3 vs. Ghattas, 5-0 vs. Stearns) …
Jason Paul (Ohio State, sophomore) – The 2004 All-American lost just once to Ghattas (0-5 at NYU Duals) in six 2005 regular-season bouts vs. the Irish, posting a pair of wins over Stearns (5-4 at NYU, 5-1 at ND) and Diacou (5-2 at NYU, 5-0 at ND) while edging Ghattas at the ND Duals (5-4) … Ghattas rallied to beat Paul in the 2004 MFC semifinals (15-14) and beat him again at the Midwest Regional (5-0) but Paul won the NCAA matchup (5-1) … Stearns beat Paul at the ’04 NCAAs (5-2) but lost to him last fall at the Penn State Open (14-15), with Paul ending up 9th for All-America honors.
Jason Rogers (Ohio State, senior) – The 2004 U.S. Olympian and former All-American has made his return to college fencing, sweeping the Irish at the NYU Duals (5-3 vs. Ghattas and Stearns, 5-2 vs. Diacou) and at the ND Duals (5-1 vs. Ghattas and Diacou, 5-2 vs. Stearns) … Rogers beat Ghattas last fall in the Penn State Open quarterfinals (15-12).
Bobby Smith (Wayne State) – The veteran fencer lost to Ghattas (2-5) and Stearns (1-5) at the ND Duals but posted a 5-3 win over Diacou … Smith split vs. the ND fencers at the ’04 NCAAS (1-5 vs. Ghattas, 5-2 vs. Stearns) en route to placing 21st (he was 7th at the ’04 MFCs, losing a 15-5 quarterfinal to Ohio State’s Adam Crompton).
KRYCZALO PREPARING FOR RUN AT RARE FOURTH TITLE – Notre Dame senior foilist Alicja Kryczalo in three weeks will be attempting to become just the 30th Division I athlete to win four NCAA titles in the same event … that elite list includes 16 swimmers, eight track-and-field performers, two fencers, two divers and a wrestler … five actually have been four-time NCAA champions in two different events (making 34 total times that an NCAA Division I athlete has won the same event four times): distance runner Suleiman Nyambui (indoor miler and outdoor 10,000 meters, at UTEP from ’79-’82), backstroker John Naber (100 and 200, USC, ’74-’77), breaststroke specialists Brendan Hansen (100 and 200, Texas, ’01-’04), butterfly standouts Pablo Morales (100 and 200, Stanford, ’84-’87) and two-board diving ace Megan Neyer (1-meter and 3-meter, Florida, ’82-’84 and ’86) … here’s the complete list:
* Freestyle swimmers Bill Smith (220, Ohio State, ’43, ’47-’49), Leigh Ann Fetter (50, Texas, ’88-’91), Arthur Wojdat (500, Iowa, ’89-’92), Nicole Haislett (200, Florida, ’91-’94), Jenny Thompson (100, Stanford, ’92-’95), Gustavo Borges (100, Michigan, ’92-’95) and Martina Moracova (200, SMU, ’96-’99)
* Butterfly standouts Mark Spitz (100, Indiana, ’69-’72), Mary T. Meagher (200, California, ’83 and ’85-’87), Pablo Morales (100 and 200, Stanford, ’84-’87) and Ian Crocker (100, Texas, ’01-’04)
* Weight throwers Scott Neilson (hammer, Washington, ’76-’79), Michael Carter (shot put, SMU, ’80-’84; went on to play in NFL with S.F. 49ers), Balasz Kiss (shot put, USC, ’93-’96) and Seilala Sua (women’s discus, UCLA, ’97-’00)
* Distance runners Steve Prefontaine (3-mile, Oregon, ’70-’73), Suleiman Nyambui (indoor mile and outdoor 10,000 meters, UTEP, ’79-’82) and Suzy Favor (1,500, Wisconsin, ’87-’90)
* Backstrokers Yoshyi Oyakawa (200, Ohio State, ’52-’55) and John Naber (100 and 200, USC, ’74-’77)
* Breastroke specialists Steve Lundquist (100, SMU, ’80-’83) and Brendan Hansen (100 and 200, Texas, ’01-’04)
* Divers Megan Neyer (1-meter and 3-meter, Florida, ’82-’84 and ’86) and Troy Dumais (3-meter Texas, ’99-’02)
* Sabre fencer Micael Lofton (NYU, `84-`87)
* Individual medley swimmer David Wharton (400, USC, ’88-’91)
* 158-pound wrestler Pat Smith (Oklahoma State, ’90-’92, ’94)
* Foil fencer Olga Kalinovskaya (Penn State, `93-’96)
* 100-meter dash runner Angela Williams (USC, ’99-’02)
Note: Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson won the NCAA 184-pound title from ’99-’01 before winning at 197 pounds in `02