Jan. 28, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame earned two ACC Fencer of the Week honors this week, as epeeist Ashley Severson was named the ACC Women’s Fencer of the Week and sabreist Jonah Shainberg was tabbed the ACC Men’s Fencer of the Week. Both fencers were honored with the conference award due to their success at the St. John’s and NYU Invitationals this past weekend.
“We are so excited that Ashley and Jonah won,” Irish head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia says. “Jonah fully met our expectations of him as a freshman, and performed very well in a tough environment. And Ashley, she was a solid competitor for us all weekend long. She performed as a true senior and captain, and led the women’s epee squad to a truly dominating performance.
“Now that we have welcomed Samir [Ibrahimov] to our staff, we believe Jonah can be a star sabreist for us in the coming years if he continues to develop in the right direction,”Kvaratskhelia continues.
Severson compiled a 10-4 record Saturday at No. 8 St. John’s, and a 9-2 record Sunday at the NYU Invite. Saturday, she was undefeated against No. 5 Ohio State (2-0) and No. 7 Harvard (3-0), and on Sunday she went 1-0 against Yale, 3-0 against No. 2 Columbia and 2-0 versus No. 9 Northwestern and NYU. Combined, the native of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, etched a 19-6 record throughout the weekend to lead the top-ranked Irish women’s squad to an 8-2 record over the weekend with six victories over ranked opponents. The Irish women are currently ranked No. 1 in the collegefencing360.com Fencing Coaches Poll.
At the St. John’s Invitational Saturday, Shainberg had the best record in men’s sabre, logging a 9-6 mark. A freshman from Rye, New York, Shainberg was undefeated against No. 3 Ohio State and logged 2-1 marks against No. 6 Harvard and No. 5 St. John’s. Sunday in the NYU Invitational, he went 6-3 on the day, for a combined weekend total of 15-9. He notably earned a 2-0 mark against Yale and a 2-1 record against No. 5 St. John’s, the second time in as many days. The Irish men’s team sits at No. 2 in the rankings.
This is the second time Notre Dame fencers have won both awards in the same week, as Francesca Russo (women’s) and Hazem Khazbak (men’s) were both honored in November after the Ohio State Elite Cup (Nov. 16).
Notre Dame is next in action at the Northwestern Duals, taking place Saturday, Jan. 31 in Evanston, Ill.
Lizzie Mikes,
Media Services Coordinator
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