Feb. 20, 2003

The Notre Dame men's and women's fencing teams travel to East Lansing, Mich. to wrap up the 2002-03 regular season this weekend at the Michigan State Duals. The Irish look to defend their respective rankings for the first time since the U.S.F.C.A. poll (which was released February 13) ranked the Irish men first and the women third (behind Penn State and St. John's).

The Irish men look improve to 23-0 on the season and extend the program's third-longest winning streak to 82 consecutive victories (dating back to 2000) with four men's and women's bouts scheduled for Saturday against Michigan State, Detroit Mercy, Michigan and Purdue. The Irish will be without sophomore All-America foilist Derek Snyder, who was injured in last week's Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Irish women look to improve upon their 17-2 record and post their third consecutive 20-win season.

The one-day competition opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday, but the Irish begin fencing at 10:30 a.m. with a matchup against host Michigan State.