Feb. 24, 2006

Collegiate fencing will enter the first stage of its postseason this weekend with conference tournaments, including the annual Midwest Fencing Conference Championships that are set to be held at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 25 (individual competition; 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) and Sunday, Feb. 26 (team competition 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.). The two-day event will feature nationally-ranked teams from three schools (Notre Dame, Ohio State and Northwestern) and several of the nation’s top fencers, led by four former NCAA individual champions.

The format for the 18-team field has shifted this year, as the individual competition will be held on the first day while the team bouts will follow on Sunday.

Schedules, brackets and results from the MFCs will be available at the following link: http://www.nd.edu/~fencing/results/mfcc06.htm.

Notre Dame and Ohio State – the top-two finishers from the 2005 NCAAs – should wage another classic battle, with the Irish women currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and the men 2nd while OSU remains first in the men’s poll but has dropped to sixth in the women’s rankings. The 5th-ranked Northwestern women also figure to be a top contender in the team competition. Wayne State features several top fencers – notably in epee – but members of the Warriors team will compete only in Saturday’s individual bouts.

The MFCs will provide spectators the chance to see four former NCAA champion fencers in action, plus three others who have reached the NCAA title bout and three more who have been third-place finishers. The field is highlighted by 26 competitors who have competed in previous NCAA Tournaments, with 22 of them registering All-America top-12 finishes.

The former NCAA champions who are slated to be on hand include Notre Dame junior sabre standout Valerie Providenza (’04; also 4th in ’05), plus three two-time champs: WSU women’s epeeist Anna Garina (’04 and ’05), OSU junior foilist Boaz Ellis (’04 and ’05) and OSU senior sabreist Adam Crompton (’03 and ’04; also 7th in ’05). Two other Notre Dame fencers – junior Amy Orlando in epee and junior Patrick Ghattas in sabre – each finished as runner-up at the 2005 NCAAs, as did WSU’s Marek Petraszek in men’s epee (he lost to former ND standout Michal Sobieraj).

Notre Dame sophomore sabreist Mariel Zagunis – the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2005 NCAA runner-up – will not compete at the 2006 MFCs, due to a schedule conflict with the Grand Prix World Cup event being held in Budapest, Hungary.

The three who have been NCAA third-place finishes include: OSU junior epeeist Denis Tolkachev (in ’04; also 4th in ’05), senior sabre Jason Rogers (in ’02 and ’03; fenced for USA at ’04 Olympics, then 5th at ’05 NCAAs) and sophomore women’s sabreist Siobahn Byrne (’05).

Other All-Americans to watch this weekend at the MFCs include (finish indicates ’05 NCAAs, unless specified): ND sophomore foilist Jakub Jedrkowiak (7th), OSU junior epeeist Kaela Brendler (5th; also 7th in ’04), OSU junior sabre Jason Paul (9th in ’04), ND junior sabre Matt Stearns (10th), Detroit senior sabre Jaroslaw Jelinek (11th), OSU junior epeeist Christian Rivera (12th) and Northwestern junior foilist Jessica Florendo (12th).

A handful of others have fenced at the NCAAs, including: ND junior sabre Angela Vincent (’04), junior foilist Frank Bontempo (’04) and junior epeeist Aaron Adjemian (’05); OSU sophomore foilist Will Jeter (’05); NU junior epeeists Courtney DuBois (’05), senior epeeist Sharon Sullivan (’04), senior sabre Emily Pasternak and junior sabre Mai Van Vu (’05); and Cleveland State foilust Mike Merker (’05).

Each of the top teams also include several noteworthy newcomers who quickly are making their impact on college fencing.

Midwest Fencing Conference Championships Schedule

Saturday, Feb. 25 (individual competition; times are approximate)
8:00 – Pool-round bouts begin in men’s foil and epee and women’s sabre
9:30 – Pool-round bouts begin in women’s foil and epee and men’s sabre
11:00 – Direct-elimination bouts begin in men’s foil and epee and women’s sabre
1:00 – Direct-elimination bouts begin in women’s foil and epee and men’s sabre
2:30 – Final-eight bouts begin in all six weapons (end by 5:00)

Sunday, Feb. 26 (team competition; times are approximate)
8:00 – Bracket matchups begin in all six weapons (nine-bout matches; first team to five wins) … competition is direct-elimination but all spots will be fenced out in losers-bracket throughout the day, ending around 4:00 … the men’s and women’s sabre competitions are slated to begin early in the morning and should conclude around noon-time, with the foil and epee bouts ending later in the afternoon