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Irish Men Close Gap Against Ohio State At NCAA Championships

Two-bout difference sets up dramatic final day at NCAAs.

March 15, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Notre Dame men's fencing team took to the strip on Saturday in day three of the 2008 NCAA Fencing Championships on the Ohio State University campus. After a rollercoaster day, Ohio State leads the NCAAs over the Irish by a score of 149-147, one bout closer than the end of yesterday's women's events. The final three men's rounds will take place on Sunday.

Irish epeeists Greg Howard and Karol Kostka contributed identical 8-6 records on the first day. Howard (Sr., Granger, Ind.) posted early wins over travel partner and defending NCAA champion Slava Zingerman of Wayne State (5-1), and St. John's Misha Mokretsov (5-4 in sudden death, with Howard tying the match at 4 with three seconds left). Kostka (Jr., Krakow, Poland) was staked by a 5-3 start that included wins over Howard (2-1 in sudden death), Stan Vaksman of St. John's, and James Moody of Penn State (5-3). Howard currently stands in eighth place, one bout away from fifth, and two from the top four. Kostka is in tenth place, only two indicators behind Howard.

In foil, the Irish were led by Steve Kubik's 9-5 record. Kubik (Fr., San Antonio, Tex.) posted a sweep of Columbia's Kurt Getz (5-4) and Sheriff Farrag (5-2) and a win over travel partner Ben Parkins of Ohio State (5-0). Zach Schirtz (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) scored a 7-7 record, with key wins over Farrag and Parkins. Kubik is currently in seventh place, four indicators away from fifth. Schirtz is in 11th place, missing tenth by one touch scored.

The Irish were led in sabre by Barron Nydam (Fr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), who notched a 10-4 record good for sixth place, four indicators from fifth place and one bout from the top four. Nydam started strong with a 6-2 record including wins over Ohio State's Sergey Smirnov, and thrilling 5-4 wins over Columbia's Alex Diacou (brother of former Irish sabreman Nicholas) and Charles Worsham of St. John's. Nydam finished strong with a three-bout sweep of Western rivals Lucas Janson and Max Murphy of Stanford and Bryan Kim of UC-San Diego. Bill Thanhouser (Jr., Portland, Ore.) scored a 7-7 record with important wins over Smirnov (5-4, after trailing 4-2), Worsham and a closing three-match sweep over the western fencers. Two of Thanhouser's losses were heartbreaking 5-4 bouts against Penn State's Daniel Bak and Franz Boghicev.

Sunday's competition begins with what could possibly be the key showdown of the tournament, when the Irish epeeists and their travel partner Zingerman square off against Jason Pryor and Sean Harder of the Buckeyes. Action gets underway at 9:30 a.m. (ET).

Current Standings:
Teams (top six of 23)
1. Ohio State -- 149
2. Notre Dame -- 147
3. Columbia-Barnard -- 128
4. Penn State -- 123
5. St. John's -- 118
6. Harvard -- 85
Men's Epee (top five plus Notre Dame qualifiers)
1. Graham Wicas, Princeton  10-4  +23 indicator
2. Slava Zingerman, Wayne State  10-4  +22 indicator
3. Arthur Urman, Penn State  10-4  +16 indicator
4. Stan Vaksman, St. John's  10-4  +12 indicator
5. Peter French, Air Force  9-5  +11 indicator
6. Misha Mokretsov, St. John's  9-5  +9 indicator
8. Greg Howard, Notre Dame  8-6  +8 indicator
10. Karol Kostka, Notre Dame  8-6  +4 indicator
Men's Foil (top five plus Notre Dame qualifiers)
1. Ron Berkowsky, Penn  13-1
2. Andras Horanyi, Ohio State  12-2  +38 indicator
3. Kurt Getz, Columbia  12-2  +34 indicator
4. Nick Chinman, Penn State  11-3
5. Henry Kennard, St. John's  9-5  +15 indicator
6. Dorian Cohen, Duke  9-5  +14 indicator
7. Steve Kubik, Notre Dame  9-5  +11 indicator
11. Zach Schirtz, Notre Dame  7-7
Men's Sabre (top five plus Notre Dame qualifiers)
1. Mike Momtselidze, Ohio State  13-1
2. Luther Clement, St. John's  12-2
3. Jeff Spear, Columbia  11-3  +28 indicator
4. Franz Boghicev, Penn State 11-3  +25 indicator
5. Daniel Bak, Penn State  10-4  +17 indicator
6. Barron Nydam, Notre Dame  10-4  +13 indicator
12. Bill Thanhouser, Notre Dame  7-7
Matchups for Rounds 5-7 on Sunday:
Men's Epee
Round 5 -- Pryor/Harder, OSU   Weider, PENN
Round 6 -- Sherill/Stallings, HARV  Pearce, YALE
Round 7 -- Trapani/French, AFA  Kenney, STAN
Men's Foil
Round 5 -- Itameri-Kitner/Ouyang, HARV  Pantel, BROWN
Round 6 -- Perkins/Chinman, PSU  Flanders, PRIN
Round 7 -- Hendricks/Cohen, DUKE  R. Berkowsky, PENN
Men's Sabre
Round 5 -- K. Zeichmann/R. Zeichmann, UNC  Stogin, PRIN
Round 6 -- Roukas/Hammond, NYU  Spear, COL
Round 7 -- Kolasa/J. Berkowsky, PENN  Ahn, HARV