Feb. 23, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame freshman Ewa Nelip notched a conference championship as she defeated Ohio State’s Kaela Brendler, 15-12, in the title bout of the women’s epee at the 2008 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships on Saturday in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse. The Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams combined to earn 19 all-league accolades during the first day of the championships, which featured all of the individual competition.
The third-ranked Fighting Irish men had 12 all-conference honorees, while the second-ranked women boasted seven. Nelip was the lone champion for Notre Dame. Ohio State had two champions for both the men and women. The Buckeye women are ranked No. 1, while the men are second.
Earning first-team all-MWFC honors for the Notre Dame women were Nelip (epee), Hayley Reese (foil), Eileen Hassett (sabre) and Sarah Borrmann (sabre). Copping similar accolades for the Irish men were Karol Kostka (epee), Mark Kubik (foil), Steve Kubik (foil), Bill Thanhouser (sabre) and Barron Nydam (sabre).
The Midwest Fencing Conference Championships will conclude on Sunday with the team competition. Fencing begins at 8:00 a.m. (ET) inside the Joyce Center Fieldhouse. For full results of the championships click here.
Below is a recap of the direct elimination portion of the meet. Note, the number in parenthesis is the seed, which was determined during pool competition in the morning.
WOMEN’S EPEE:
Ewa Nelip captured gold for Notre Dame by defeating Ohio State’s Kaela Brendler (#11), 15-12. In the semifinals, Nelip, the 12th seed, downed No. 1 seed Alexandra Obrazcova, 15-9.
Notre Dame’s Kimberlee Montoya (#13) fell in the round of 16, while Eleanor Leighton (#21) and Vanessa Rosa (#34) were eliminated in the round of 32.
WOMEN’S FOIL:
The top Notre Dame finish in the foil came from Hayley Reese (#2), who received a bronze medal by advancing to the semifinal round. Third-seeded Samantha Nemecek from Northwestern topped Reese, 15-8. Ohio State’s Oksana Dmytruk, the top seed, defeated Nemecek, 15-5, in the final.
Adrienne Nott (#4) and Emilie Prot (#6-T) both reached the quarterfinals to claim second-team all-conference honors for the Fighting Irish. Nott bested her teammate, Rachel Cota (#13), in the round of 16.
WOMEN’S SABRE:
Sarah Borrmann (#3) and Eileen Hassett (#5) represented Notre Dame on the all-conference first team by collecting bronze medals. Borrmann fell to eventual champion Siobhan Byrne, 15-11, from Ohio State in the semifinals, while Hassett suffered a 15-12 setback to Ohio State’s Eileen Grench, the top seed, in the semis.
Ashley Serrette (#6) earned second-team all-league honors with a berth in the quarterfinals where she fell to her teammate Borrmann, 15-8. The only other Irish competitor in the sabre field was Christina Zoccoli (#14), who was defeated in the round of 32.
MEN’S EPEE:
Notre Dame’s Karol Kostka (#5-T) received a bronze medal and first-team all-conference honors as he advanced to the semifinal round before falling to eventual champion Slava Zingerman (#2) from Wayne State, 15-11. Zingerman topped Ohio State’s Bishara Korkor (#5-T) in the final, 15-6. Jason Pryor from Ohio State was the top seed. He fell in the semifinals.
Three Fighting Irish fencers earned second-team recognition. Bill Ehrlich (#18-T), Conor Gettings (#23) and Greg Schoolcraft (#25) all exited in the quarterfinal round. Greg Howard (#17) made it to the round of 16, while Andrew Seroff (#15) and Chris Pfarr (#16) both fell in the round of 32. Notre Dame’s Matt Gasperetti was knocked out in the first round of direct elimination.
MEN’S FOIL:
Notre Dame’s Mark Kubik, the No. 1 seed, fell to Ohio State’s Andras Horanyi, 15-9 in the championship bout. Kubik topped his younger brother and teammate, Steve Kubik (#5-T), by a 15-14 score in the semifinal round. The Kubik duo earned first-team all-conference honors.
Earning second-team accolades for the Irish was Zach Schirtz (#4) and Jakub Jedrkowiak (#9-T). Steve Kubik defeated Schirtz in the quarterfinals, 15-10, and Jedrkowiak exited in the round of 16. Teddy Hodges (#17) was also defeated in the round of 16. Xavier Lebec (#30) fell in the round of 32, while Diego Silva (#56) was topped in the round of 64.
MEN’S SABRE:
Barron Nydam and Bill Thanhouser both earned a bronze medal and first-team all-conference accolades as semifinalists for Notre Dame. Nydam entered direct elimination as the No. 2 seed, while Thanhouser was the fifth seed. Ohio State’s Mikhail Momtselidze (#6), who knocked off Nydam 15-13, captured first by defeating his teammate Dexter Wilde (#9), 15-4. Wilde topped Thanhouser, 15-10, in the semifinals.
Avery Zuck, the No. 4 seed, earned second-team all-league honors as he advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to his teammate Thanhouser, 15-14. Notre Dame’s Alex Buell (#12-T) and Tom Horton (#14) both made the round of 16, while Matt Pentz (#39) and John Plunkett (#26) fell in the round of 32 and 64, respectively. Buell was a third-team honoree. Ohio State’s Sergey Smirnov, who was defeated by fellow Buckeye Wilde in the quarterfinals, was the No. 1 seed.