UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — If the Notre Dame fencing program was pleased with its four-medal performance by its women’s fencers Saturday at Penn State’s Garret Open, the men’s five-medal Sunday was the cherry on top of an emphatically successful season-opening weekend.
With podium prizes taking the form of gold, silver and bronze Nittany Lion statuettes, Irish fencers snagged gold and silver in men’s epee, silver and bronze in men’s foil and bronze in men’s sabre as Notre Dame blend of youth and experience proved itself a potent combination.
How It Happened
Men’s Epee
The Irish also guaranteed themselves hardware in men’s epee as senior Dylan French and junior Aidan Antekeier fenced for the golden Nittany Lion. Though entering the bracket as the 10th and 13th seeds, respectively, the pair battled into the final where French edged Antekeier in a 15-14 victory.
Junior Zachary Zeller finished in seventh place after advancing to the second round, while senior Darius Zacharakis finished in 13th place.
Men’s Foil
Sophomore Robert Wong earned the top seed after pool play, assembling a 13-2 record en route to elimination. He was joined in the bracket by classmates Joseph Marino, Thomas Murray and Matt Tichacek, and met and defeated Marino (third place) and Murray (eighth place) en route to his appearance in the title bout. There, he met Penn State’s Sebi Tirado, who prevailed 15-10 as Wong earned silver.
Men’s Sabre
The Irish youth showed their strength in men’s sabre as three of Notre Dame’s four men’s sabre qualifiers — Malcolm Fields, Jared Smith and Logan Kanary — were competing in their first collegiate meet.
It was Smith who delivered Notre Dame’s fifth medal of the day, advancing to the semifinal after entering the bracket as the No. 7 seed. He nabbed a share of third place after falling to eventual champ Karol Metryka of Penn State.
Junior Arsenii Panteleev placed eighth, while Fields and Kanary finished 10th and 11th, respectively.
Up Next
The Irish will next compete as a team on Sunday, Nov. 18, when they head to Columbus, Ohio, for the Elite Invitational at Ohio State.
Standings
Penn State Garret Open
Nov. 3-4, 2018
White Building
University Park, Pa.
Men’s Epee
1. Dylan French
2. Aidan Antekeier
7. Zachary Zeller
13. Darius Zacharakis
29. Zachary Cheng
T30. Austin Guo
T30. Ariel Simmons
44. Cole Malette
45. Michael Siroky
Men’s Foil
2. Robert Wong
T3. Joseph Marino
8. Thomas Murray
15. Matt Tichacek
18. Axel Kiefer
21. Michael Antipas
T32. Gustavo Rosello
36. Alexander Ju
Men’s Sabre
T3. Jared Smith
8. Arsenii Panteleev
10. Malcolm Fields
11. Logan Kanary
27. Ariel Croitoru
30. Guram Lortkipanidze
36. Ben Scholl
T51. Blake Murphy
56. Jack Rohan
–ND–