Nov. 2, 2009
Complete Women’s Sabre Standings in PDF Format 
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Notre Dame fencer Abigail Nichols made it to the championship sabre bout of the 30th annual Temple University Open this past weekend. Nichols was joined by freshman teammates Kathryn Palazzoto and Danielle Guilfoyle as participants in the 73-player women’s sabre field. The tournament featured student-athletes from over 25 schools, including participants from Penn State, Penn, NYU, Rutgers, Cornell and Johns Hopkins.
Nichols (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) met Penn’s Danielle Kamis in the championship bout. Danielle, a junior, edged Nichols, a freshman, in the dramatic final by a narrow 15-13 margin. Nichols had fallen behind 8-2 in the early going, but battled back to tie the bout at 13-13 before Danielle landed the final two touches for the win.
On her way to claiming the silver medal, Nichols downed Penn State’s Jessica Russo and Jennifer Sawicki of North Carolina. Palazzoto (Nutley, N.J./Acad. Of the Holy Angels) finished 14th overall, and her tournament was highlighted by a win over Penn State’s Grace Waligorski. After a strong showing in the preliminary rounds, Guilfoyle (Pittstown, N.J./Villa Walsh Acad.) finished 26th.
The Irish fencing team’s next collegiate event of the year will be the Penn State open, which is scheduled to take place on November 21 and 22. The women’s portion of the tournament will take place on the 21, with the men fencing on the 22.
— ND —