March 7, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
The Notre Dame women's fencing team made a strong case to qualify the maximum six fencers for the NCAA Championships with an impressive showing at the NCAA Regionals, hosted at Ohio State. Freshman Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Sarah Borrmann (Beaverton, Ore.) led the way with first-place finishes in epee and sabre respectively.
All told, the Irish combined for six medalists finishes on the day including a sweep in epee, a bronze medalist in foil and the gold and silver medals in sabre. Additionally, all 12 Irish entrants made their weapon's final eight direct elimination table.
Women's Epee
Less than a week removed from an epee team title at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, the Irish epeeists turned in another dominating performance as they fielded the top-three finishers. Joining Courtney Hurley in the top three were sophomore Ewa Nelip (Katowice, Poland), who took the silver, and junior Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), who finished in third. Freshman Diane Zielinski (Bernardsville, N.J.) finished in seventh to round out the Irish epee contingent.
Courtney Hurley's run to the title began with a perfect 5-0 record in pool play. The top seed in the final eight, she strung together four wins to advance to a semifinal showdown with her sister and Irish teammate Kelley, the fourth seed. Courtney booked her place in the finals with a 15-9 win over her sister (Kelley went on to defeat Julia Tikonova in the bronze medal bout, 15-8). In the finals, Courtney met teammate Nelip, who had notched a 15-11 win over Ohio State's Tikonova to reach the finals. Hurley won the title bout, 15-9, claiming her second title in the past week in the process, having won the individual epee crown at the MFC Championships last weekend. Courtney's run to the title was so dominant that no non-Irish opponent landed more than seven touches against her all day, while teammates K. Hurley and Nelip could only muster nine.
Women's Foil
Hayley Reese (Crestwood, Ky.) was Notre Dame's top foil finisher on the day as she placed third to take home the bronze. She finished with a 5-0 mark in pool play. In the final eight, the fifth-seeded Reese posted a 15-8 win over Irish teammate Radmilla Sarkisova (Grand Rapids, Mich.) to advance to the semifinals. But in the semifinals she fell to eventual champion Oksana Dmytruk of Ohio State, 15-9. Reese rebounded in the In the bronze medal bout to record a win over Ohio State's Lindsay Knauer, 15-8, to ensure that the Irish had at least one medalist in each weapon. It also marked the second consecutive year in which Reese has taken home the bronze from NCAA Regionals.
Adrienne Nott (Pittsford, N.Y.), Sarkisova and Malynn went on to finish in fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively. Nott recorded consecutive wins over Malynn (15-3) and Sarkisova (15-7) in the repechage to finish in fifth.
Women's Sabre
Notre Dame's strong day continued with gold and silver medal finishes in sabre. Borrmann edged teammate Eileen Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.) in the championship bout, 15-13. Borrmann entered the final eight as the second seed. She proceeded to defeat Northwestern's Whitney White, 15-4, and teammate Beatriz Almeida (Chappagua, N.Y.), 15-9, to advance to the finals. Almeida was then defeated by Margarita Tschomakova of Ohio State in the bronze medal bout, 15-6, to finish in fourth.
Senior captain Ashley Serrette (Orange, N.J.) joined Borrmann, Hassett and Almeida in the final eight. She downed Northwestern's White, 15-13, to finish in seventh.
The men take part in NCAA Regional action tomorrow, March 8 as they attempt to qualify the maximum of six fencers for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in State College, Pa. on March 22-25. On Tuesday, March 10, the Irish will learn exactly who has been selected to participate in the NCAA Championship event.
Women's Epee
Place Fencer School
1 Courtney Hurley Notre Dame
2 Ewa Nelip Notre Dame
3 Kelley Hurley Notre Dame
4 Julia Tikhonova Ohio State
5 Christa French Northwestern
6 Kayley French Northwestern
7 Diane Zielinski Notre Dame
8 Miriam Baranov Ohio State
9 Mary Pozydaev Ohio State
10 Jo. Niklinska Northwestern
11 Brooke Snyder Cleveland State
12 Emanuela Bercea Wayne State
13 Desirée Kelly Wayne State
14 Chiara Terzuolo Lawrence
15 Megan Ross Northwestern
16 Elyse Gurnowski Ohio State
17 Charlotte Reed Wayne State
18 Court. Zemkosky Cleveland State
19 Hannah Borland Detroit
20 Brittany Cook Detroit
Women's Foil
Place Fencer School
1 Oksana Dmytruk Ohio State
2 Sam Nemecek Northwestern
3 Hayley Reese Notre Dame
4 Lindsay Knauer Ohio State
5 Adrienne Nott Notre Dame
6 Radm. Sarkisova Notre Dame
7 Darsie Malynn Notre Dame
8 Mer. Baskies Northwestern
9 Dev. Patterson Northwestern
10 Holly McKibben Ohio State
11 Provençal-Dayle Northwestern
12 Allison Henvick Ohio State
13 Dorothea Schurr Lawrence
14 Melanie Kathan Lawrence
15 Stephanie Lee Cleveland State
16 Ashley Colbert Detroit
17 S. Strassburg Wayne State
17 R. Broderick Wayne State
Women's Sabre
Place Fencer School
1 Sarah Borrmann Notre Dame
2 Eileen Hassett Notre Dame
3 M. Tschomakova Ohio State
4 Beatriz Almeida Notre Dame
5 Falencia Miller Ohio State
6 Emily Cheng Ohio State
7 Ashley Serrette Notre Dame
8 Whitney White Northwestern
9 Adrienne Shon Northwestern
10 Jillian Maher Northwestern
11 Ashley McLemore Detroit
12 Allison Keller Northwestern
13 Anna Kotov Wayne State
14 Allison Diven Detroit
-- ND --
