Ewa Nelip Class: Freshman Hometown: Katowice, Poland High School: I L.O. Kopernika Height: 5-8 Event: Epee Birthdate: 05/01/1987 Club: Polac Mlodziezy Katowice

Elite addition who claimed epee bronze medal at 2007 European Championship, two months after joining the Irish (fall '07) ... has tremendous speed and reactions for her height (5-8) ... a strong fighter who exerts full effort in every bout ... combines tremendous athleticism and agile change of direction with an elegant style ... driven by self-motivation and belief that she can battle back to win any bout ... internationally-experienced competitor who has made quick and smooth transition to life as a student-athlete at Notre Dame ... intense and attentive fencer who could become top competitor on NCAA level, as she finetunes her technique while working with assistant coach Marek Stepien (a fellow Poland native) ... very effective at executing the "compere attack" (prepare and attack) ... will be looking to improve her footwork and reaction timing in certain situations ... won recent Junior World Cup in Tauber, Germany (Dec. '06), while placing second at Jr. World Cups in Budapest (Jan. '07) and Modling, Austria (March '07) ... joins two other current current Irish fencers - senior men's foilist Jakub Jedrkowiak (Leszno) and junior men's epeeist Karol Kostka (Krakow) - and two recent Notre Dame standouts (Sobieraj and Alicja Kryczalo) as only Poland natives ever to compete on Notre Dame varsity team ... Kryczalo (Gdansk) won the 2002-04 NCAA women's foil titles ('05 runner-up) while Sobieraj (Leszno) also was a four-year All-American ('05 NCAA men's epee champ, '03 runner-up, 3rd in '04, 10th in '02) ... had solid 6th-place finish at Penn State Open (fall '07), after losing quarterfinal to eventual champ Anastasia Ferdman of PSU.

PREP & PERSONAL: Attended I L.O. Kopernika High School while training at Polac Mlodzlezy Katowice fencing club (under coach Ludmila Zaczek) ... born May 1, 1987, in Czestochowa, Poland ... daughter of Pawel and Grazyna Nelip ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... intends to major in economics.