| Matthew Stearns |
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Second-year sabre who should be in the mix for return to NCAAs in 2005 ... has made good progress despite limited experience from Minnesota fencing system ... a very driven and spirited fencer who could gain more consistency by better channeling his emotions ... also looking to improve his overall technical skill while maximizing 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame that provides tremendous wingspan and reach ... combines with classmate Patrick Ghattas as likely top men's sabres in `05 ... continues to emerge in U.S. national rankings, checking in at 13th for under-20 men's sabres (as of Jan. 20, 2005) and 91st in the world under-20 rankings ... boasts major upside, reminding the Irish coaches of former ND All-America sabre Andre Crompton (who started his college career with a No. 52 junior-level ranking and was No. 6 in the senior-level rankings by his senior year) ... makes good tactical use of his long attacks ... finished 10th at 2003 Junior Olympics (Colorado Springs) before taking 8th at 2004 JO's (in Cleveland), after beating Andrew McGee in round-of-16 (15-11) and losing to Ghattas in 15-9 quarterfinal ... placed 43rd at 2004 Junior World Cup in Poland, 10th at `04 JWC in Louisville, Ky. ... took 6th at Penn State Open in fall of `04 (11-4 record, with 15-14 win over Ohio State's Jason Paul) ... opened 2005 with an impressive 3rd-place finish in the under-20 competition at the North American Cup event in Overland Park, Kan. (he was 36th in the senior/open bouts), with top wins in the junior-level bouts vs. Penn State's Andrew Zich (15-11) and Columbia's Alex Krul (15-14) ... serves as fencing team's representative on Notre Dame's Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
AS A FRESHMAN: Compiled 35-9 record in regular season, including 7-0 start at Northwestern Open ... combined with Ghattas to win 85% of their bouts (71-13) ... his wins over Marten Zagunis (5-3) and Ian Farr (5-2) helped Irish post 14-13 win at Penn State ... 7-6 mark at NYU Duals included sweep of Stanford's Robert Owens (5-1) and Jon Pearlstein (5-4) ... beat Ohio State's Colin Parker (5-3) and UC San Diego's Jeremy Runyon (5-1) as part of 19-2 record at ND Duals ... reached Midwest Fencing Conference semifinals (lost 15-11 to OSU's Adam Crompton) ... 4th-place finish at Midwest Regional (8-3) included 5-2 wins over Ghattas ... placed 14th at NCAAs (10-13) to miss All-America honors by two spots ... top NCAA wins came vs. PSU's Zagunis (5-3), OSU's Paul (5-2), Columbia's Krul (5-3), UNC's Wesley Newkirk (5-4), Harvard's David Jakus (5-1) and Air Force's Sam Barton (5-4) ... placed 4th at PSU Open in fall of `03, beating Newkirk in round of 16 (15-9) before losses to Zagunis (11-15) and Ben Igoe of Rutgers (9-15).
PREP & PERSONAL: Multi-sport athlete at The Blake School, earning nine combined letters in fencing, football and track and field ... four-time Minnesota state fencing champion in sabre, also serving as senior-year captain for head coach Harold Buck's squad ... first began fencing at a Minnesota Sword Club summer camp, where he was coached by Rich Jacobson ... an all-conference football player and three-year letterwinner, as an offensive and defensive lineman ... also lettered twice in track and field, advancing to the regional shot-put competition ... son of John and Karen Stearns ... full name is Matthew John Stearns ... born May 18, 1985, in Minneapolis, Minn. ... enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.
