March 22, 2001
(Note: men's epee rounds to be completed by 8:00 p.m. EST).
KENOSHA, Wis. - Following four rounds of men's foil and sabre
competition at the NCAA Men's and Women's Combined Fencing
Championships, Notre Dame has placed three fencers in the top 10 of
their respective fields-with the final three sabre and foil rounds to be
completed on Friday at the University of Wisconsin Parkside's Petretti
Fieldhouse. The opening rounds of men's epee will be held Thursday
afternoon and completed on Friday, with the women set to fence on
Saturday and Sunday.
Irish senior Andrzej Bednarski (Granger, Ind.) currently stands third in
the sabre field (winning 11 of 14 bouts), with junior teammate Andre
Crompton (Irvington, N.J.) close behind in fourth place (10-4). The foil
competition has placed 2000 NCAA runner-up Ozren Debic (Zagreb, Croatia)
in sixth place (10-4), with fellow Irish sophomore Forest Walton
(Londonberry, N.H.) currently 17th in the 24-fencer field (6-8)-giving
the Irish 37 points out of a possible 54.
Bednarski opened the day with a 5-1 loss to Crompton but won 11 of his
next 13 bouts, highlighted by a 5-3 win over 2000 All-American Robert
Owens of Stanford. One of Bednarski's other losses came to Penn State's
impressive newcomer Mohaymen Rahimi, 5-4.
Three of Crompton's four losses also came by 5-4 counts, versus Owens,
Rahimi and Paul Friedman of Brown. The Irish sabremen will have a
difficult challenge awaiting them on Friday, when they fence the
powerful teams of St. John's, Columbia and Wayne State.
The foilists dealt with a tough field on Thursday while contesting some
tight bouts. The first round saw Debic lose to defending NCAA champion
Felix Reichling of Stanford (5-1) before downing the teammate and
brother of Reichling, Florian, by a score of 5-3. Debic later defeated
two fencers who earned All-America honors in 2000, besting Yale Cohen of
Pennsylvania (5-2) and Jed Dupree of Columbia (5-1).
Walton turned in a strong 5-4 win over Columbia's Kevin Erikson before
battling back from a 3-0 deficit to defeating Paul Taylor of Boston
College, 5-4. He then lost several close bouts, including 5-4 losses to
Stanford's Florian Reichling (who raced to a 4-0 lead) and Cohen of
Pennsylvania.
Updated information from Thursday's men's epee competition will be
posted later tonight. Updates for all Notre Dame varsity sports also can
be obtained by calling the Irish Sports Hotline, at (219) 631-3000.
