Jan. 24, 2007

Notre Dame, Ind. - The Wayne State University women's fencing squad compiled a 5-3 record last Saturday at the Notre Dame Duals.

WSU's returning All-Americans, Anna Garina, Justyna Konczalska and Kasia Kuzniak, each had 18 victories on the day.

The Warriors began the day with a 17-10 victory over Stanford. In the epee both Anna Garina and Justyna Konczalska went 3-0. In the foil, Erin Stranyak won the final bout, 5-4, giving WSU a 5-4 win in the weapon. The Warriors were aided by six foreit victories, three each in foil and sabre.

In the second round, WSU fell to Notre Dame 18-9. A highlight for WSU was Konczalska's win over Kelley Hurley, one of the top-ranked epeeist in the country. In fact, Hurley recorded a 17-2 mark on the day.

Wayne State recorded a 23-4 triumph over Cal State Fullerton in round three. CSUF did not travel with any epeeist and only one sabre competitor. Lindsey Howard won all three of her bouts in the foil.

The Warriors garnered a 22-5 win over Lawrence in round four. Both Garina and Konczalska went 3-0 in the epee, as did Howard in the foil. All three WSU sabre participants, Ann Bartoszewicz, Kasia Kuzniak and Alicia Chmielewski, had 3-0 records vs. Lawrence.

WSU fell to 3-2 on the day with a narrow 14-13 setback to UC-San Diego. The Warriors lost 5-4 in the epee despite two victories each by Garina and Konczalska. UCSD posted a 6-3 win foil, with Wayne State rallying for a 6-3 win sabre as both Kuzniak and Bartoszewicz had 3-0 marks.

After a bye in round six, Wayne State dropped an 18-9 decision to Ohio State. Garina won all three of her epee bouts, while Konczalska (epee), Kuzniak (sabre) and Howard (foil) each had two victories.

In round eight, the Warriors posted a 21-6 triumph over Detroit Mercy. All three epeeists, Garina, Konczalska and Alyse Schneider were 2-0 as UDM only fielded two competitors in the weapon. WSU received six forfeit wins in the foil with UDM having only one participant. Kuzniak won all three bouts in the sabre.

Wayne State finished strong defeating Cleveland State 20-7 in the final round. Both Garina and Konczalska went 3-0 in the epee, but the Vikings won five of the nine foil bouts. WSU rebounded by winning all nine sabre bouts.

Records for the day:

Epee:
Anna Garina 18-2
Justyna Konczalska 18-2
Alyse Schneider 5-15
Forfeit wins 12

Foil:
Lindsey Howard 14-7
Melanie Kwiatkowski 6-15
Erin Stranyak 4-17
Forfeit wins 9

Sabre:
Ann Bartoszewicz 14-7
Alicia Chmielewski 7-14
Kasia Kuzniak 18-3
Forfeit wins 9

The Warriors will participate in the New York University Duals this Sunday.