Feb. 6, 2016
By Joanne Norell
DURHAM, N.C. — The No. 2 University of Notre Dame men’s fencing team closed out the regular season with a strong showing Saturday at the Duke Duals, posting a 4-1 record and defeating a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference opponents ahead of this month’s ACC Championship.
The Irish (32-3, 2-0 ACC) started the day with a setback, but gained momentum throughout the event to finish on a high note. Facing No. 4 Penn State for the second time in as many weeks, the Irish fell 16-11 as the Nittany Lions dominated in the epee and sabre categories.
The loss did not stick with Notre Dame, which went on to big wins over Johns Hopkins (22-5) and Brandeis (25-2) before facing its next ranked opponent in No. 9 Duke. The Irish defeated the host and ACC rival Blue Devils 16-11 on the strength of their foil squad, which went 7-2 with sophomore Virgile Collineau going 3-0 and junior Kristjan Archer and freshman Axel Keifer going 2-1 in the match. Sophomore Jonah Shainberg also went 3-0 in sabre to help lift the Irish over the Blue Devils.
The Irish closed out the day against another ACC foe, defeating North Carolina 25-2. The Irish went undefeated in foil and sabre en route to the blowout win over the Tar Heels.
The Irish were led on the day by foilist Collineau, who went 14-1, while sabreur Shainberg posted a 13-2 mark. Kiefer also went 12-3 in foil, while freshman Darius Zacharakis (epee), Archer (foil) and sophomore Jonathan Fitzgerald (sabre) each went 11-4.
The second-ranked Irish women (30-0) will wrap up the team’s stay in North Carolina when they take the strip Sunday at Card Gymnasium for the women’s portion of the Duke Duals.
DUKE DUALS
Card Gymnasium
February 6-7, 2016
Saturday (Men’s Competition)
No. 4 Penn State 16, No. 2 Notre Dame 11
Epee (3-6)
Zacharakis 2-1
French 1-2
McGrath 0-3
Foil (6-3)
Kiefer 2-1
Archer 2-1
Collineau 2-1
Sabre (2-7)
Fitzgerald 1-2
Shainberg 1-2
Hallsten 0-3
No. 2 Notre Dame 22, Johns Hopkins 5
Epee (7-2)
McGrath 3-0
French 2-1
Zacharakis 2-1
Foil (7-2)
Collineau 3-0
Kiefer 2-1
Archer 2-1
Sabre (8-1)
Shainberg 3-0
Hallsten 3-0
Fitzgerald 2-1
No. 2 Notre Dame 25, Brandeis 2
Epee (8-1)
McGrath 3-0
Zacharakis 3-0
French 2-1
Foil (8-1)
Kiefer 3-0
Collineau 3-0
Archer 2-1
Sabre (9-0)
Shainberg 3-0
Fitzgerald 3-0
Hallsten 3-0
No. 2 Notre Dame 16, No. 9 Duke 11
Epee (4-5)
Zacharakis 2-1
McGrath 1-2
French 1-2
Foil (7-2)
Collineau 3-0
Archer 2-1
Kiefer 2-1
Sabre (5-4)
Shainberg 3-0
Fitzgerald 2-1
Hallsten 0-3
No. 2 Notre Dame 25, North Carolina 2
Epee (7-2)
McGrath 3-0
French 2-1
Zacharakis 2-1
Foil (9-0)
Archer 3-0
Collineau 3-0
Kiefer 3-0
Sabre (9-0)
Fitzgerald 3-0
Hallsten 3-0
Shainberg 3-0
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To keep up with Irish fencing, visit UND.com/NDFencing, follow @NDFencing on Twitter and like Notre Dame Fencing on Facebook.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant 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 and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.