Matt Stearns Fencing Roster

2005 and 2006 All-AmericanThree-Time NCAA Participant

Three-year veteran of NCAA Tournament who turned in All-America finishes as a sophomore and junior … combines with fellow senior Patrick Ghattas and sophomore Bill Thanhouser to give the Irish one of the nation[apos]s top three-man sabre units … a fiery competitor who has continually proven his ability to knock off the nation[apos]s top fencers … his 10th-place finish at the 2005 NCAAs helped secure the national team title … looking to continue developing his tactical preparation as he gains experience … could develop more consistency as he learns to channel his energy while improving mental toughness … has made good progress despite limited experience from Minnesota fencing system … boasts a 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame that provides tremendous wingspan and reach … makes good tactical use of long attacks … compiled a 109-28 record in regular-season bouts during his first three seasons with the Irish … has served past two years as men[apos]s fencing team[apos]s representative on Notre Dame[apos]s Student-Athlete Advisory Council … placed eighth at the Penn State Open in the fall of 2006, improving on his #13 seed, thanks to early wins over PSU All-American Franz Boghicev (5-4) and Ohio State[apos]s Jason Paul, later adding a key win over Penn[apos]s Andrew Bielen (5-4) and a 15-13 victory over Rutgers All-American Ben Igoe (in the round-of-16), before losing rematch with Boghicev in quarterfinals (6-15).

AS A JUNIOR: Went 33-10 in regular-season bouts before tying for third at the Midwest Fencing Conference meet, placing sixth at the Midwest Regional and repeating as an All-American at the NCAAs (11th; 12-11) … his 8-3 record at the Northwestern Duals included top wins over UCSD[apos]s Jason Runyan (5-3) and Stanford[apos]s Teddy Levitt (5-2) … racked up several impressive wins at the NYU Duals (11-3), besting the likes of Ohio State Olympian Jason Rogers (5-3), fellow OSU standout and two time NCAA champ Adam Crompton (5-4), NYU[apos]s Andrew Magee (5-2), the St. John[apos]s trio of Nijmy Cadet (5-2), Luther Clement (5-1) and Nikita Tsukhlo (5-2), and Columbia [apos]s James Williams (5-3) … his limited action at the ND Duals (4-2) included a 5-0 win over Detroit All-American Jaroslaw Jelinek …beat Stanford[apos]s Levitt again (5-1) as part of his 10-2 record at the UC San Diego Duals … registered another win over OSU[apos]s Rogers in the MFC quarterfinals (15-8) before losing semifinal bout to Crompton (8-15) … entered Regional in Cleveland as the #2 seed, going on to beat teammate Nico Diacou in the round-of-16 (15-7) before losing to OSU[apos]s Mike Momtselidze in the quarterfinals (10-15), followed by a narrow win over Thanhouser (15-14) and a loss to Rogers in the 5th-place bout … opened NCAAs in Houston with an 8-6 record on the first day, with top wins over Detroit [apos]s Jelinek (5-3), Duke All-American Peter Truszkowski (5-4; trailed 1-3) and Penn State All-American Marten Zagunis (5-2) … clinched 11th-place, All-America finish by going 4-5 on the final day, with top wins over NYU[apos]s Magee, Columbia [apos]s Alex Diacou and Harvard[apos]s David Jakus (all 5-4) … took seventh at Penn State Open in the fall of [apos]05, with early wins over OSU[apos]s Paul (5-3) and Harvard[apos]s Jakus (5-2), plus a 15-8 win over Phil Dolata of Rutgers in the round-of-16 and a controversial loss to eventual champ Tim Hagamen of Harvard in a 13-15 quarterfinal … earlier placed 24th at 2005 USFA Summer Nationals ( Sacramento , Calif. ) and also competed at the North American Cup in Houston (45th; Jan. [apos]06).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Compiled 41-9 record in regular season and placed fourth at Regional (7-4, at Wayne State ) before helping win national team title with his 10th-place finish at the NCAAs (in Houston ) … received fencing program[apos]s Dan Mulligan Men[apos]s Sabre Leadership Award … his All-America performance included a 14-9 record in the round-robin, tying for eighth (10th based on total-point indicators) … combined with Ghattas to win 32 bouts in round-robin (second-most in men[apos]s sabre field), a +9 boost in their win total from 2004 (he tacked on four more NCAA wins) … his first day at the NCAAs (8-6) included key wins over SJU[apos]s Cadet (5-3), Columbia [apos]s Paul Reyfman (5-4), UNC[apos]s Wesley Newkirk (5-3) and Ghattas (5-3) … closed on Friday with a 6-3 record that included clutch 5-0 victory over OSU[apos]s Rogers , after dropping four previous bouts to him in the 2005 college season (that two-point swing helped provide the final margin, as the Irish women completed the rally to edge OSU, 173-171) … added key NCAA wins over NYU[apos]s Magee and Stanford[apos]s Curtis Andrus (both 5-3) … matched #4 seed at Regional to earn spot at NCAAs … handed Regional champ Ghattas his only loss at that event (5-2) … started 6-5 at NYU Duals, including 5-2 win over Alexander Krul that helped Irish men top 5th-ranked Columbia (16-11) … went undefeated (12-0) in first day of the ND Duals (24-3 at that two-day event) … closed regular season 11-1 at the Duke Duals … took sixth at Penn State Open in the fall of [apos]04 (11-4; 15-14 win over OSU[apos]s Paul) … opened 2005 with 3rd-place finish in u-20 competition at N.A.C. event in Overland Park, Kan. (36th in senior/open bouts), with top wins over PSU[apos]s Andrew Zich (15-11) and Columbia[apos]s Krul (15-14) before losing to OSU[apos]s Paul in a 14-15 semifinal … placed 24th at N.A.C. event in Chattanooga , Tenn. (April [apos]05).

AS A FRESHMAN: Went 35-9 in the regular season before reaching the MFC semifinals, placing fourth at the Midwest Regional (held at Cleveland State ) and narrowly missing All-America honors at the NCAAs (14th) … his top NCAA wins came versus PSU[apos]s Zagunis (5-3), OSU[apos]s Paul (5-2), Columbia [apos]s Krul (5-3), UNC[apos]s Newkirk (5-4), Harvard[apos]s Jakus (5-1) and Air Force[apos]s Sam Barton (5-4) … his 4thplace Regional finish (8-3) included 5-2 win over Ghattas … lost MFC semifinal to OSU[apos]s Crompton (11-15), who went on to repeat as the NCAA champion … combined with Ghattas to win 85% of their regular-season bouts (71-13) … opened with 7-0 record at the Northwestern Open … his wins over Zagunis (5-3) and Ian Farr (5-2) helped Irish men post 14-13 win at Penn State … 7-6 mark at NYU Duals included sweep of Stanford[apos]s Robert Owens (5-1) and Jon Pearlstein (5-4) … beat OSU[apos]s Colin Parker (5-3) and UCSD[apos]s Jeremy Runyon (5-1) as part of 19-2 record at ND Duals … placed fourth at Penn State Open in the fall of [apos]03, beating Newkirk in round-of-16 (15-9) before losses to PSU[apos]s Zagunis (11-15) and Igoe of Rutgers (9-15) … had finished 10th at [apos]03 Junior Olympics ( Colorado Springs ) before posting 8th-place finish at the [apos]04 JO[apos]s (in Cleveland ), beating NYU[apos]s McGee in round-of-16 (15-11) and losing to Ghattas in 9-15 quarterfinal … placed 43rd at the [apos]04 Junior World Cup in Poland and 10th at a 2004 JWC in Louisville , Ky.

PREP & PERSONAL: Multi-sport athlete at The Blake School, earning nine letters in fencing, football and track and field … fourtime state fencing champ in sabre, serving as senior-year captain for coach Harold Buck[apos]s squad … first began fencing at a Minnesota Sword Club summer camp (coached by Rich Jacobson) … an all-conference football player and three-year letterwinner, as an offensive and defensive lineman … lettered twice in track and field, advancing to regional shot-put competition … son of John and Karen Stearns … full name is Matthew John Stearns … born May 18, 1985, in Minneapolis , Minn. … a political science major, enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.

Stearn[apos]s Career Record