Jan. 28, 2017
DeCicco Duals Results — Day 1 
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By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams each went undefeated Saturday on the first day of the fourth annual DeCicco Duals at the Castellan Family Fencing Center. The third-ranked Irish women were 5-0 on the day, while the No. 4 Irish men posted a 4-0 record.
How It Happened
The Irish women picked up a 24-3 win over Lawrence to start the day, with all three weapons going 8-1 against the Vikings. They went on to defeat Wayne State 24-3, when both foil and epee put in 9-0 showings.
The Irish followed up with a 27-0 victory over a depleted Detroit Mercy, which entered just one fencer in epee and two in sabre.
In the premier matchup of the day, the third-ranked Irish women faced off with No. 8 Northwestern in a back-and-forth standoff that came down to the final bout on the epee strip. The Irish foil squad went 6-3 against the Wildcats to offset Northwestern’s 6-3 win in sabre, and the epee squads traded points until sophomore Amanda Sirico pulled out a final victory to lift the Irish to a 14-13 win.
Notre Dame closed out the day with a 27-0 win over Florida’s club team.
The Irish men opened the day against Lawrence, picking up a 25-2 victory over the Vikings. The foil squad picked up a 9-0 squad victory, while both sabre and epee were each victorious by 8-1 scores.
They followed with a 23-4 victory over Wayne State, with the foil squad once again picking up a 9-0 victory while epee was again 8-1.
The Irish finished the morning with a 23-4 win over Detroit Mercy. Epee went 9-0 against the Titans, while sabre was 8-1.
Notre Dame’s men finished the day against Florida’s club team, picking up a 26-1 win over the Gators.
Key Contributors
A plethora of Irish fencers took advantage of their competitive opportunities Saturday, with several posting impressive undefeated records. Irish senior women’s foilist Lee Kiefer went 5-0 on the day, including 3-0 in the win over Northwestern. She improved to 25-0 on the season, and closed out her career on the floor of the Castellan Family Fencing Center.
Sophomore epeeist Madeline Antekeier went 7-0 on the day. Antekeier picked up a key victory against the Wildcats to give the Irish a lead at 13-12. Freshman sabreuse Natalie Disher was 6-0 on the day, while squadmate Madeline Gallagher was 5-0, as was junior foilist Reagan Fitzgerald.
Freshman sabreuse Regina O’Brien went 5-1 on the day, while freshman epeeist Katherine Wallace was also 5-1. Sophomore foilist Sabrina Massialas was 4-1 on the day, as was epeeist Marie-Anne Roche. Epeeists Molly Hudson (epee), Eva Niklinska (epee) and Sirico (epee) were all 3-0 for the women’s team Saturday.
For the men, sophomore foilist Michael Antipas was 8-0 on the day, while senior sabreur Ian Dwyer was 7-0 on the day. Epeeists Aidan Antekeier, Arthur LeMeur and Christian Aguilar were all 6-0 and squadmate Cole Mallette went 5-0.
Up Next
The DeCicco Duals will continue Sunday when Notre Dame welcomes eight additional clubs to the Castellan Family Fencing Center. Action will begin at 8 a.m. ET, with the last matches scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET.
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.