Nov. 11, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Men’s foilist Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) and women’s epeeist Ewa Nelip (Katowice, Poland) have been named Notre Dame Fencers of the Month for October, it was announced by Irish head coach Janusz Bednarski.
The pairing earned the honor on the heels of a pair of strong showings at the World Championships, which were held in Catania, Italy (Oct. 9-16). It is the first such honor for both Irish fencers.
Meinhardt’s World Championships saw him earn the second-best finish amongst all American entrants in the foil draw, finishing behind only Race Imbode. Overall, Meinhardt finished 13th in the 64-member direct elimination table. Additionally, Meinhardt helped the United States men’s foil team finish 11th overall in the team portion of competition.
Nelip, meanwhile, represented her native Poland at the games while competing in both the individual epee draw and the team competition. Nelip finished 28th overall in the individual draw, recording a win over Polish teammate Malgorzata Bereza in her opening bout (14-13) before falling to Italy’s Bianca Del Carretto (15-7) in the round of 32. She, and the rest of the Polish team, then went on to finish fourth in the team portion, losing to eventual champion China (45-34) in the semifinals.
Both Meinhardt and Nelip will be missed from collegiate fencing action this season as they both search to earn National Team bids for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
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