ND to host Midwest Conferencee champion
Special to the Observer
The Notre Dame men's and women's fencing teams return to action this weekend in the friendly confines of the Joyce Center Fieldhouse, welcoming teams from 10 other schools for the annual Midwest Fencing Conference Championships.
The top-ranked Irish men are led by defending NCAA sabre champion Gabor Szelle (37-3 record in 2001, 134-8 for his career) and last year's NCAA foil runner-up Ozren Debic (42-2, 84-6). Szelle and Debic own two of the top winning percentages in Notre Dame fencing history while sophomore Jan Viviani owns the best career winning percentage in Irish men's epee history (.872; 75-11). Viviani-who placed third at the 2000 NCAAs-posted a 44-4 record during the collegiate regular season and recently claimed the epee championship at the Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The sixth-ranked Irish women are led by sophomore All-America foilist Liza Boutsikaris (54-6 in 2000, 90-15 career) and a pair of All-America sophomore epeeists: Anna Carnick (53-18, 94-28) and Meagan Call (56-14, 95-23). The sabre squad won 80 percent of its matches in the regular season (best by any Irish women's weapon), led by senior captain Carianne McCullough (34-8) and freshman Destanie Milo (41-11).
Saturday's all-day team championships begin at 9:00 a.m. while Sunday's individual championships are slated to begin at 8 a.m. The event is open to the public and free of charge.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 23, 2001
