Eileen Hassett Class: Sophomore Hometown: Beaverton, OR High School: Aloha Height: 5-9 Event: Sabre Birthdate: 04/19/1989 Club: Oregon Fencing Alliance

2007 U.S. Junior National Team

Relative newcomer to fencing who has quickly risen to spot among nation's top-ranked competitors, highlighted by earning a spot on four-fencer U.S. women's sabre squad for 2007 Junior World Championships ... began fencing in August of 2004, at Oregon Fencing Alliance that has produced several elite Notre Dame fencers in recent years ... was listed fifth on USFA U-20 women's sabre rankings (as of Nov. 15, 2007) and 10th among all U.S. women's sabreists ... also held FIE world rankings of 64th among U-20 women's sabreists (95th overall) ... one of team's taller women's fencers (5-foot-9) who has developed very modern and effective style while training alongside classmate Sarah Borrmann at OFA, where they are coached by former Notre Dame assistant Ed Korfanty ... very athletic bouter whose newer style includes different positioning of the blade, minimizing movements and focus on strategic use of distance on the strip (all running counter to static bouting of the past) ... typically uses quick escapes rather than parries, in order to avoid touches ... the only fencers ahead of her on the USFA U-20 women's sabre rankings include 17-year-old Becca Ward (also a product of OFA), St. John's sophomore Dagmara Wozniak, Caroline Vloka and Borrmann (#4) ... the nine above her in the overall USFA rankings include: former ND fencer Mariel Zagunis ('04 Olympic champion/'08 Olympic hopeful), Ward, Sada Jacobson ('04 Olympic bronze), Wozniak, Penn State junior Caity Thompson (another OFA product), former Columbia fencer Emma Baratta, Vloka, Ohio State's Eileen Grench and Alexis Jemal ('02 NCAA champ, while at Rutgers) ... combined with Ward, Wozniak and Vloka for bronze-medal team finish at Junior World Championships in Belek, Turkey (April '07) ... her 3rd-place finish at annual Penn State Open (fall '07) included 15-12 quarterfinal with Harvard's Alexa Weingarden, semifinal loss to Grench (11-15) and win over OSU newcomer Felicia Miller for the bronze medal.

PREP & PERSONAL: Attended Aloha High School while training at Oregon Fencing Alliance ... placed 12th at Senior World Cup in Vancouver (June '06), with round-of-32 win over France's Anne-Lise Touya (2005 world champ) ... finished 16th later that month at Sr. Grand Prix in Las Vegas and matched that finish at Jr. World Cups in Sosnowiec, Poland (Oct. '06), and Odessa, Ukraine (Sept. '06) ... placed 14th at Sr. World Cup in Orleans, France (Feb. '07), also fencing at four other 2007 Sr. World Cups: London (54th; Feb.), Gand, Belgium (40th; May), Havana, Cuba (34th; June), and Klagenfurt, Austria (68th; May) ... her 2006-07 results also included the 16th-place finishes in Sosnowiec and Odessa, plus Jr. World Cups in Dormagen, Germany (66th; Nov. '06) and Budapest (30th; Jan. '07), and Grand Prix events in Budapest (88th; Feb. '07), Foggia, Italy (69th; March '07), and Las Vegas (26th; June '07) ... her strong showing at Jr. Olympics in Hartford, Conn. (Feb. '06), included placing second in junior/U-20 bouts and third in cadet/U-17 ... placed 10th at 2006 USFA North American Cup in Sacramento, Calif. and 11th at Houston N.A.C. (Jan. '06) ... lettered in basketball as a freshman center at Aloha HS, where she was a member of National Honor Society and student government ... her sister Maria Hassett is a member of the basketball team at Gonzaga ... born April 19, 1989, in Portland, Ore. ... daughter of Kevin and Ann Hassett ... full name is Eileen Marie Hassett ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... intends to major in pre-professional studies.