Senior Valerie Providenza finished second in the women's sabre bouting at the annual Penn State Open, marking her fourth career top-four finish at the event (including a first-place showing as a sophomore in the fall of 2004).

Runner-Up Finishes From Providenza, Nott And Hurley Lead Notre Dame's Eight Top-10 Finishers At Annual Penn State Open

Nov. 7, 2006

Three members of the Notre Dame women’s fencing team – senior sabreist Valerie Providenza, sophomore foilist Adi Nott and freshman epeeist Kelley Hurley – placed second over the weekend at the annual Penn State Open. The Irish men’s team saw five of its fencers finish in the top-8: senior epeeist Aaron Adjemian (3rd), sophomore foilist Mark Kubik (4th), senior sabreists Patrick Ghattas (7th) and Matt Stearns (8th), and junior foilist Jakub Jedrkowiak (7th).

(Note: due to Notre Dame athletics department policy, the complete 2006-07 fencing schedule has yet to be posted on und.com because it has not been approved by the Faculty Board on Athletics.)

Providenza entered the PSU Open seeded No. 2 and won all 15 of her pool bouts to maintain the No. 2 seed entering the round-of-16 direct elimination. Her advancement to the title bout included a 15-8 quarterfinal win over Penn State’s Sophie Hiss (who lost to Providenza in the 2004 NCAA title bout). Ohio State’s Siobhan Byrne then beat Providenza in the final bout, 15-10.

Nott was seeded 11th before making her charge to the foil final, going 12-1 in her pool bouts to earn the 4th seed in the DE stage, ultimately losing the 15-7 final to Harvard’s Emily Cross (the 2005 NCAA Champion and one of the world’s top-ranked young foilists).

Hurley – like Cross one of the top-ranked young fencers in her weapon – earned the top seed and proceeded to win all 14 of her pool bouts. She topped Wayne State’s Justyna Konczalska (the 4th-place finisher at the ’06 NCAAs) in a 15-8 semifinal but was edged by her WSU teammate Anna Garina in the 15-13 final. The six-foot Garina won the NCAA title in 2004 and ’05 before finishing as the 2006 runner-up.

Adjemian was seeded just 15th before using a 10-4 record in the pools to earn a No. 7 seed entering the DE. He then posted wins over teammate Greg Howard (15-13) and OSU’s Jason Pryor (15-8) before losing a 15-13 semifinal to WSU’s Marek Petraszek, the 2005 NCAA runner-up. Adjemian’s 15-13 win over PSU’s Dennis Kraft yielded a 3rd-place finish.

Kubik’s finish lived up to his No. 4 seed, with his 12-2 record in the pool bouts yielding a No. 8 seed heading into the DE. His big win came in the quarterfinals – 15-10 over Harvard’s Kai Itameri-Kinter (the No. 2 seed and a 6th-place finisher from the 2006 NCAAs) – followed by a 6-7 defensive battle vs. PSU’s Chu Ming Chang in the semifnials and an 11-15 loss to OSU’s Dmitri Kirk-Gordon in the 3rd-plaec bout.

Here are complete details from the 2006 Penn State Open, sorted by weapon:

WOMEN’S SABRE – The 57-fencer field included four from ND, with Providenza finishing as the runner-up, sophomores Ashley Serrette 21st and Christina Zoccoli 34th, and senior Erin Housing 50th … PROVIDENZA entered as the #2 seed and moved up to #1 after going 5-0 in her first pool bouts … she then was #3 after another 5-0 round and moved back to #2 after going 5-0 in the third pool round (which included a 5-4 win over Harvard’s Alexa Weingarden, the pre-tournament #10 seed) … Providenza’s DE bouts included a 15-14 win over OSU’s Syvenna Siebert (a #10 seed), the 15-8 bout with PSU’s Hiss (#3 seed), a 15-7 semifinal with Harvard’s Carolyn Wright and the 15-10 loss in the final vs. Byrne (Wright and Byrne were tied for the #4 seed entering the tournament) … Providenza was 3rd at the PSU Open as a freshman (fall of ’03) before winning in ’04 and reaching the semifinals in ’05 … SERRETTE was seeded 32nd but moved up to #21 after going 3-2 in her first pool, with a 5-4 win over Penn’s Cassandra Partyka (a 2006 NCAA participant) and a 5-3 loss to PSU’s Hiss … she then improved to #18 after a 2-3 mark in round-2 (1-5 loss to Byrne) and went 1-4 in her final round, with losses to OSU’s Siebert (4-5) and PSU’s Hiss (3-5) … ZOCCOLI ended up matching her #34 seed with her finish … she improved to 18th after a 3-2 record in the first pool bouts, highlighted by a 5-3 win over PSU’s Laura Hillstrom (a #10 seed) … she then was eliminated after losing all five of her pool-2 bouts, including 1-5 bouts with OSU’s Eileen Grench (the top seed) and Harvard’s Weingarden … HOUSING also entered as a #34 seed but dropped to 54th after the first pool (1-4) … she then entered the consolation bracket and posted wins over Drew’s Grace Dippo (15-6) and UNC’s Helen Marino 15-8 before losing to PSU’s Lilly Matusiak (8-15).

WOMEN’S EPEE – The 70-fencer results included Hurley as the runner-up, ND sophomore Kim Montoya placing 25th and junior Anna Rodriguez finishing 43rd … HURLEY was the #1 seed coming in but slipped to #2 after her first pool (5-0) before retaking the top spot after a second round of pools (5-0) that included wins over #7 seed Rebecca Moss of Yale (5-0) .. she kept her #1 status after another 5-0 pool that included wins over NCAA Tournament veteran Brianna Ferrar of Temple (#9 seed; 5-3), a 5-0 shutout of another NCAA regular (PSU’s Case Szarwark, who placed 7th at the ’06 NCAA) and a 5-4 bout with OSU’s Alexandra Obrazcova … Hurley’s DE bouts included wins over Princeton’s Chandler Clay (15-4), Northwestern newcomer and #3 seed Kayley French (15-5) and WSU’s Konczalska (15-8), who placed 4th at the 2006 NCAAs … the epee final them produced a close result, as Ukraine native and WSU standout Garina posted the 15-13 win … MONTOYA – who was runner-up at the 2005 PSU Open – entered this year’s bouting as the #14 seed but dropped to 18th after her first pool (4-10 … she then finished 25th after splitting four bouts in round-2, with a 1-5 loss to PSU’s Keri Byerts (the #4 seed) and a 5-4 win over #6 seed Kristin Howell of Temple … RODRIGUEZ was seeded 54th before a 1-4 first pool that included a 1-5 loss to PSU’s Byerts and a 5-0 win over OSU’s Leslie Lampman .. she entered the consolation bracket as the #49 seed and posted wins over FDU’s Erica Kuehn (15-12), UNC’s Rachel Eschenbach (15-9) and Temple’s Mellisa Forsythe (15-7) before dropping the consolation semifinal to Drew’s Naomi Bocarsly (12-15).

WOMEN’S FOIL – The 55-fencer field produced Nott as the runner-up, fellow sophomore Emilie Prot placing 14th, junior Melanie Bautista 31st and fifth-year senior Colleen Walsh 40th … NOTT – who placed 12th at the 2005 PSU Open – entered the weekend as the #11 seed and moved to 10th after a first pool (4-1) that included a 5-2 win over NCAA Tournament veteran Nina Gernes of Temple … Nott then claimed the top seed after a 4-0 second pool that featured three top wins: 4-3 vs. #5 seed Abby Emerson of Penn, 5-0 vs. WSU’s Lindsay Howard (an ’06 NCAA paricipant) and 5-0 vs. #7 seed Zoya Abdikulova of Penn … her third pool (4-1) included wins over #9 seed Jocelyn Scengsouk of Princeton (5-3) and an 0-5 loss to Penn’s Ilana Sinkin (a 2006 NCAA participant) … Nott entered the DE as the #4 seed and registered wins over PSU’s Anne Jackson (15-4), 8th-seeded Melissa Parker of Temple (15-7) and Harvard’s Arielle Pensler (15-2) before dropping the final to Harvard’s Cross (7-15) … PROT (9th at the ’05 PSU Open) entered this year’s event as the #23 seed, dropping to 37th despite a 4-0 first round (including a 5-4 bout with #4 seed Allison Glasser of PSU) … Prot moved up to 22nd after her second round (2-2) that featured a 5-4 win over Temple’s Nina Gernes (an ’06 NCAA participant) and a 5-0 loss to PSU’s Tam Najm (the #3 seed) … she then earned a #14 seed into the DE thanks to a 3-2 final round, with a 5-4 win over regional rival and NCAA veteran Jessica Florendo of Northwestern, plus a 2-5 bout with Harvard’s Cross and another loss to PSU’s Najm (4-5) … Prot’s only DE bout was a 7-15 loss to Penn’s Abby Emerson … BAUTISTA was seeded 34th and moved up two spots (32nd) after a 2-3 first round (3-5 loss to NU’s Florendo) … she then was eliminated after a 1-3 second round, beating NU’s Florendo (5-4) but losing to her Northwestern teammate and #2-seeded Sam Nemecek (3-5) and to PSU’s Glasser (1-5) … WALSH (23rd at the ’03 PSU Open) was the #43 seed and improved to #38 after a first round (1-3) that included a 5-0 loss to Penn’s Emerson and a 5-1 win over the #6 seed Jessica Wacker of UNC … Walsh had a bye in the consolation bracket before beating UNC’s Meredith Peck (15-2) also losing by the same score to PSU’s Sara Gonzalez.

MEN’S EPEE – The big 75-fencer field included Adjemian finishing 3rd, Howard 13th, sophomore Karol Kostka 14th, Patrick Gettings 44th and fellow senior Jesse Laeuchli 58th … ADJEMIAN – who was 3rd at the ’03 PSU Open and 14th in ’04 – entered the weekend as the #15 seed and moved up to 13th after a 4-1 first round that included a 5-1 win over NCAA veteran Mike Burkhart of UNC … he stayed at 13th after the second round (2-2, with 5-4 win over PSU’s Arthur Urman) and ultimately earned the #7 seed heading into the DE, thanks to a 4-1 third round that included a 5-1 loss to WSU’s Petraszek … Adjemian’s final bouts were the 15-13 win over Howard, the 15-8 bout with OSU’s Pryor, the 10-15 loss to WSU’s Petraszek and the 15-13 win over PSU’s Kraft (the #7 pre-tournament seed) in the 3rd-place bout … Petraszek went on to win the final vs. Jason Henderson of Rutgers … HOWARD (8th at the ’04 PSU Open, 12th in ’05) was seeded 10th but dropped to 20th after his 3-1 opening round (5-3 win over PSU’s Kraft) and then improved to 12th with a 3-1 second pool (losing 5-2 to former OSU fencer Denis Tolkachev, now a student assistant with OSU) … Howard’s 3-2 final round included a 2-5 loss to Tolkachev, a 5-2 win over PSU’s James Moody (#5 seed) and a 2-5 loss to RU’s NCAA Tournament veteran Henderson (he then was seeded 10th in the DE and lost to Adjemian, 13-15) … KOSTKA (4th at the ’05 PSU Open) was seeded 15th before going 4-0 in his first pool bouts, moving up to a #5 seed … he then dropped back to 19th after a 2-2 second round that included a 2-5 loss to PSU’s Moody … Kostka then took a #12 seed into the DE, after a 3-2 third round that included a 5-4 win over PSU’s Kraft, but lost in the round-of-16 to Yale’s Michaeel Pearce of Yale (10-15) … GETTINGS (a quarterfinalist at the ’03 PSU Open before placing 22nd in ’04) was seeded 15th but was dropped into the consolation backet after a 2-3 first round (1-5 loss to WSU’s Petraszek) … as the #42 seed, he received a bye before posting wins over Cornell’s Dimiry Duoskin (15-2), Yale’s George London (15-13) and UNC’s Ben Gillis (15-6) before ending with a 12-15 loss to OSU’s Christian Rivera (a 2005 All-American) in the consolation semifinals … LAEUCHLI was the #15 seed but dropped to 47th after a 2-3 opening round (4-5 loss to OSU’s Tolkachev) … he had a bye in the consolation bracket but lost the next bout, 12-15 vs. UNC’s Gillis.

MEN’S FOIL – The 64-fencer field produced Kubik as the 3rd-place finisher, Jedrkowiak in 7th, sophomore Alexander Grigorenko in 16th, senior Frank Bontempo 35th and junior Diego Quinonez in 45th … KUBIK, who made a big jump in his finish from the ’05 PSU Open (20th) entered the weekend as the #4 seed and slipped to 6th despite going 5-0 in his first round (highlighted by a 5-3 win over Penn’s Michael Galligan, who placed 9th at the ’06 NCAAs) … he then slipped to 12th after a 3-1 second round that included a 2-5 loss to Galligan before earning a #8 seed into the DE, thanks to his 4-1 final round (with a 5-4 win over OSU’s Dmitri Kirk-Gordon) … Kubik advanced to the semifinals with wins over Princeton’s Alejandro Bras (15-6), #2 seed Itameri-Kinter of Harvard (15-10) but lost the 6-7 defensive battle to PSU’s Chu Ming Chang … OSU’s Kirk-Gordon then beat Kubik in the 3rd-place bout (11-5) while former OSU fencer Boaz Ellis won the title (like Tolkachev, Ellis also is an OSU student assistant coach this year) … JEDRKOWIAK – who beat Ellis in the previous two PSU Opens (’04 runner-up, ’05 champion) – was one of 11 men’s foilist who shared a pre-tournament seeding of 8th this weeekend … his 5-0 first round pushed his seed to 5th and included a 5-3 win over former St. John’s fencer Sam Wunderlich) … Jedrkowiak dropped to 6th after a 3-1 second round that included a 4-5 loss to #5 seed Kevin Cho of Rutgers, a 3-5 loss to Princeton’s Bras and a 5-1 win over 3rd-seeded Robert MacClaren of PSU … he then entered the DE seeded 6th, after a 4-1 final round (2-5 loss to #1 seed Ron Berkowsky of Penn; 5-2 win over PSU’s MacClaren) that preceded a round-of-16 win over Wunderlich (15-11) and a 7-15 quartefinal loss to Ellis … GRIGORENKO was just a #36 initial seed before his impressive round-of-16 finish … his 3-2 start included a 0-5 loss to Penn’s Berkowsky (who placed 4th at the ’06 NCAAs) and dropped his to a #31 seed before climbing all the way to 8th with a 3-1 second round (3-5 loss to #5 seed Alexander Louton of PSU) … a tough final round (1-4) included losses to Harvard’s Itameri-Kinter (0-5) and Princeton’s Bras (3-5), followed by a 3-15 loss to Itameri-Kinter in the DE … BONTEMPO (a quarterfinalist at the ’03 PSU Open, plus 14th in ’04 and 19th in ’05) entered this year’s event as a #8 seed before going 4-1 in the first round (with a 0-5 loss to Ellis) … he then finished with a 1-3 second round that included a 0-5 loss to Penn’s Berkowsky … QUINONEZ (21st at ’04 PSU Open, narrowly missed round-of-32 in ’05) was the #54 seed and dropped into the consolation bracket after a 1-4 first round (0-5 vs. PSU’s Ian Hanmilton) … as the #45 seed, he beat Drew’s Daniel Willard (15-9) before ending with an 8-15 loss to OSU’s Daniel Bass.

MEN’S SABRE – The 53-fencer field produced three ND fencers in the top-12 (Ghattas 7th, Stearns 8th and freshman Bill Thanhouser 11th) … GHATTAS (a semifinalist in the ’04 and ’05 PSU Openrs) entered the bouting as the #4 seed but dropped to 16th after a 3-1 first round … he moved back to 9th after a 4-1 second round that included a 2-5 loss to OSU’s Mike Momtselidze (the #5 seed) … a 4-1 final round gave Ghattas a #9 seed for the DE, with those pool bouts including a 5-4 win over #9 seed Ian Farr of PSU (a fellow product of the Oregon Fencing Alliance) and a 4-5 loss to former OSU fencer and #2-seeded Adam Crompton (yet another who is back at OSU as a student coach) … Ghattas opened the DE with a 15-10 win over UNC’s Bobby Ziechmann (a ’06 NCAA entrant) but lost by the same score to Crompton in the quarterfinals … STEARNS (who placed 4th, 6th and 7th in the ’03-’05 PSU Opens) had an initial seed of 13th and moved up one spot after his 4-1 opening round, with the lone loss coming to PSU’s Franz Boghicev (the 6th-place finisher at the ’06 NCAAs) … Stearns improved to the 10th seed after another 4-1 round (5-4 wins over Boghicev and OSU’s Jason Paul, the #9 seed) … his 2-3 final round yielded a #13 seed for the DE and included bouts with #6 seed Daniel Bak of PSU (3-5), UNC’s Ziechmann (1-5) and #7 seed Andrew Bielen of Penn (5-4) … Stearns turned in a top win in the round-of-16, besting Rutgers standout Ben Igoe (7th at ’06 NCAAs) by a 15-13 score before losing to PSU’s Boghicev (6-15) … THANHOUSER (round of 16 at ’05 PSU Open) was the #8 seed and jumped to #3 with his 5-0 first round (5-2 over OSU’s Paul) … he dropped back to #12 after a 4-1 second round (0-5 vs. PSU’s Bak) and took a #10 seed into the DE after going 3-2 in his final round, with a 3-5 loss to top-seeded Tim Hagamen of Harvard (4th at ’06 NCAAs), a 5-3 win over OSU’s Paul and a 4-5 loss to PSU’s Boghicev … Thanhouser’s day ended in the round-of-16, with a 9-15 loss to OSU’s Momtselidze.