March 8, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
The Notre Dame men's fencing team turned in three medalist finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional, led by Avery Zuck's (Beaverton, Ore.) second place finish in sabre. Senior captain Karol Kostka (Krakow, Poland) took home the bronze in epee, while freshman Enzo Castellani (Keller, Texas) also earned a bronze in foil. Additionally, 10 of Notre Dame's 12 entrants made their weapon's final eight direct elimination tables, including all four sabreists.
Men's Epee
Kostka once again led the epee contingent as he turned in a top-three performance. He advanced to the final eight table as the second seed where he defeated John Marshall of Cleveland State to advance to the semifinals, 15-12. But in the semifinals he was edged by sixth-seeded and eventual champion Slava Zingerman of Wayne State, 15-14. In the bronze medal bout, Kostka downed Ohio State's top-seeded Igor Tolkachev, 15-11. Kostka has now medaled at the NCAA Regionals in each of the past four seasons (first in 2008, third in 2006, 2007 & 2009).
Greg Schoolcraft (San Jose, Calif.) also had a strong showing for the Irish as he turned in a fifth place performance, one place ahead of sixth-place finisher Brent Kelly (Grapevine, Texas). Ohio State's Jason Pryor defeated Schoolcraft in their first match in the final eight. But Schoolcraft then rallied off two wins to take fifth. In the fifth-place bout, Schoolcraft downed teammate Kelly in a closely contested match that went down to the wire, 15-14. Rounding out the Irish epee contingent was sophomore Jacob Osborne (Colleyville, Texas), who finished in 10th.
Men's Foil
The men boasted three of the top-five finishers in foil, led by Castellani's bronze medal finish. In final eight table, the fourth-seeded Castellani outlasted his Irish teammate Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.), 15-13, to advance to the semifinals. But in the semis, Castellani was downed by top-seeded and eventual champion Andras Horanyi of Ohio State, 15-8. In the third-place bout, Castellani was matched up against teammate Reggie Bentley (Little Rock, Ark.), with Castellani proving victorious, 15-8. Bentley had won his final-eight bout versus Ben Parkins of Ohio State, 15-11, to advance to the semifinals. He then fell to Colin Sutter 15-13 in the semifinals.
After dropping his final-eight bout to Castellani, Meinhardt won two straight to finish fifth. He out-touched his final two opponents by a 30-3 margin, including a 15-3 win over Parkins in the fifth-place bout. Senior captain
Mark Kubik (San Antonio, Texas) finished ninth.
Men's Sabre
Notre Dame's sabre contingent placed four in the final eight table, with Zuck making a run to the championship bout. He downed teammate Keith Feldman (Stony Brook, N.Y.), 15-5, to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he overcame Ohio State's Dexter Wilde, 15-9, for a place in the finals. But his run came to an end in the finals as he was beaten by top-seeded Mikhail Momtselidze of Ohio State, 15-9.
Notre Dame's next finisher was Barron Nydam (Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.), as he came in fifth. After Max Stearns knocked Nydam out in the final round of eight, Nydam won two in a row, including a 15-7 win over teammate Bill Thanhouser (Portland, Ore.) in the fifth-place bout. Thanhouser, who entered the final eight as the second seed, notched a 15-13 win over Feldman to advance to the fifth-place bout. Feldman finished eighth.
The Notre Dame fencing team will be back in action on March 22-25 when it travels to State College, Pa. in search of the program's eighth NCAA national championship. After a strong showing at the NCAA Midwest Regionals, the Irish are looking to qualify the maximum of 12 fencers for the championship. On Tuesday, March 10, the Irish will learn exactly who has been selected to participate in the NCAA Championship event. Details will be posted on und.com as they become available.
Men's Epee
Place Fencer School
1 Slava Zingerman Wayne State
2 Jason Pryor Ohio State
3 Karol Kostka Notre Dame
4 Igor Tolkachev Ohio State
5 Greg Schoolcraft Notre Dame
6 Brent Kelly Notre Dame
7 Sean Harder Ohio State
8 John Marshall Cleveland State
9 Eric Gurnowski Ohio State
10 Jacob Osborne Notre Dame
11 Mykhaylo Mazur Wayne State
12 Andy Snell Cleveland State
13 Jordan Hoyt Wayne State
14 Joe Fresard Wayne State
Men's Foil
Place Fencer School
1 Andras Horanyi Ohio State
2 Colin Sutter Ohio State
3 Enzo Castellani Notre Dame
4 Reggie Bentley Notre Dame
5 Gerek Meinhardt Notre Dame
6 Ben Parkins Ohio State
7 Craig Budzynski Detroit
8 Joe Streb Ohio State
9 Mark Kubik Notre Dame
10 Liran Gross Cleveland State
11 Michael Purdy-Sachs Detroit
12 Tim Mulligan Wayne State
13 Rafi Nersessian Wayne State
14 Brad Coon Detroit
15 Michael Ramlow Wayne State
16 Stephen Montgomery Cleveland State
Men's Sabre
Place Fencer School
1 Mikhail Momtselidze Ohio State
2 Avery Zuck Notre Dame
3 Max Stearns Ohio State
4 Dexter Wilde Ohio State
5 Barron Nydam Notre Dame
6 Bill Thanhouser Notre Dame
7 Jakub Gibczynski Wayne State
8 Keith Feldman Notre Dame
9 John Friend Ohio State
10 Doug Sollman Detroit
11 Tom Lorenzo Detroit
12 Jason Heiss Cleveland State
13 Alex Chee Lawrence
14 Michael Danelia Detroit
-- ND --
