Jan. 25, 2009
Men’s Match Reports @ NYU Invite in PDF Format 
Women’s Match Reports @ NYU Invite in PDF Format
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The top-ranked Notre Dame men’s fencing team posted a 6-0 mark at the NYU Invitational on Sunday, while the second-ranked women’s team went 4-2. The men are now 8-0 on the season, while the women stand at 6-2.
Men’s Recap
The Irish continued their great early-season form with six wins at the NYU Invitational. The men posted wins over #9 St. John’s (19-8), NYU (21-6), #3 Ohio State (15-12), Stevens Tech (22-5), #4 Columbia (15-12) and Yale (19-8).
Avery Zuck (Beaverton, Ore.) led the men’s sabre squad, posting 11 wins and only two losses on the day. In men’s foil, Zach Schirtz (Rochester, N.Y.) led the way with 10 wins, while Enzo Castellani (Keller, Texas) had a 9-2 record on the day. Sophomores Jacob Osborne (Colleyville, Texas) and Andrew Seroff (Boulder, Colo.) each had eight epee wins, but it was senior captain Karol Kostka (Krakow, Poland) who led the men’s epee squad with nine wins on the day.
One of the key bouts on the men’s side was Notre Dame’s 15-12 triumph over Columbia. The Irish were down 11-10, but then Zuck beat Alex Rudnicki (5-0) to tie it up. Castellani followed with a win over Sherif Farrag (5-2) to take the lead before wins by Kostka and Bill Thanhouser (Portland, Ore.) clinched the victory.
The men had another dramatic bout versus Ohio State as the Irish were trailing the Buckeyes by a 7-4 margin but rattled off eight consecutive wins to take a 12-7 lead. Big wins in the eight-straight included junior Brent Kelly’s (Grapevine, Texas) triumph over Jason Pryor (5-3) to tie the bout at 7-7 and a win by Schirtz (5-4) over Colin Sutter which gave the Irish a lead they did not relinquish. Mark Kubik (San Antonio, Texas) also had an important win over two-time defending NCAA Champion Andras Horanyi (5-4).
The men’s epee performance was highlighted by an 8-1 mark versus Yale and a 7-2 record against Stevens Tech. Kostka went 3-0 versus Yale, as did Seroff. Kostka also posted a 3-0 record against St. John’s.
The Irish went 38-15 in foil, highlighted by one-loss showings against Stevens Tech and NYU. Aside from Schirtz’ 10 wins on the day, Castellani had nine wins, Kubik added eight, while Teddy Hodges (Salina, Kan.) chipped in with six wins, including 2-0 records versus Stevens Tech, St. John’s and NYU.
On the day, the men’s sabre contingent went 39-15, including 8-1 marks versus NYU and Yale. Zuck and Barron Nydam (Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.) combined for 21 of the 39 wins, while Thanhouser added nine more wins at the event.
Women’s Recap
The women earned wins over NYU (25-2), St. John’s (23-4), #6 Northwestern (18-9) and Yale (23-4), while they dropped hard-fought decisions to #3 Ohio State (14-13) and #4 Columbia (14-13).
The women were led by sophomore Eileen Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.), freshman Darsie Malynn (Grapevine, Texas) and sophomore Ewa Nelip (Katowice, Poland). Hassett posted 13 sabre wins, Malynn had 10 wins in foil and Nelip added 14 epee wins.
In epee, the Irish combined for a 42-12 mark, the most wins out of the three weapons. Aside from Nelip’s dominating 14-1 performance, Notre Dame also got eight wins by Courtney and Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), six from Diane Zielinski (Bernardsville, N.J.), five wins from Kimberlee Montoya (Las Vegas, Nev.) and a win from Vanessa Rosa (El Paso, Texas). Zielinski’s six wins came from 3-0 marks versus Yale and NYU.
Malynn, Adrienne Nott (Pittsford, N.Y.), Emilie Prot (Limoges, France), Hayley Reese (Crestwood, Ky.) and Radmilla Sarkisova (Grand Rapids, Mich.) combined to post a 35-19 foil record. In addition to Malynn’s 10 wins, Nott added nine and Reese and Sarkisova added six apiece. Prot chipped in with four wins, including a 2-0 record St. John’s and NYU.
The sabre squad had a busy day as only four athletes saw action. Joining Hassett on the strip were Sarah Borrmann (Beaverton, Ore.), Beatriz Almeida (Chappagua, N.Y.) and Ashley Serrette (Orange, N.J.). Hassett’s 13 wins on the day included 3-0 marks versus Yale, St. John’s and NYU. Defending NCAA Champion Borrmann added 10 wins, while Serrette had eight and Almeida had seven wins.
The Irish return to the strip next weekend at the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Ill. The two-day event gets started on Saturday, January 31.
— ND —