Dec. 7, 2010

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame fencing coach Janusz Bednarski announced recently the addition of Ian Farr to the Irish fencing staff as an assistant coach and sabre specialist. Farr joins the squad after previously serving as a volunteer coach for the Northwestern fencing team.

“We are very excited to welcome Ian to the staff,” Bednarski says. “First, obviously he is coming from the place where we have gotten a lot of our athletes from in the Oregon Fencing Alliance in Beaverton, Oregon. He is popular; he was one of the best fencers in his club and in the NCAA. He went to Penn State, and he spent four years with a great team getting knowledge from others there.”

Farr joined the Wildcat staff in August ’09 and worked with the team through May ’10. During his stint, Farr coached a team of 35 female student-athletes, providing one-on-one instruction and sharing knowledge of the sport. He helped the team to a 45-4 record on the season.

“I saw him coaching for Northwestern and I really liked his approach and I know him because I recruited him, so I know everything about him,” Bednarski continues. “We think he will be a great asset for us. This is a great place for him also because we have a top team, great fencers and he knows a lot of them already; so it will be a great situation and it will help the University of Notre Dame to have him here.”

Farr joins a staff long in experience and excellence at the University of Notre Dame. Last season, both the men’s (33-0) and women’s (35-0) squads posted undefeated regular seasons en route to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Individually, the Irish also had 11 named as All-Americans for their championship finishes.

Farr bring plenty of expertise to the job, as he was a two-time NCAA All-American (’04 and ’07) with Penn State. Along with those accolades, he also was a member of the 2007 NCAA Championship team and represented the United States in several World Cup fencing competitions.

“I’m really excited because I’ve known Janusz and Gia (Kvaratskhelia) for a while now and I think it’s a great fit for them and for me to do something that I know how to do,” Farr says. “Ultimately this will help me learn from people that really know about what they do. I really enjoy working with student-athletes, and I think Notre Dame does a good job of winning titles and graduating kids at the same time.”

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