After a strong day at the Northwestern Duals on Feb. 2, Notre Dame will travel to Durham, N.C., for the two-day Duke Duals this weekend.
Sophomore epee Nicole Ameli said the team fenced well together at Northwestern.
"We all fenced really well, and we had solid performances throughout the day," she said. "We helped each other out."
The Irish competed against a number of top-ranked teams in Evanston, Ill., last weekend and both the men and women performed well. The women's side did not drop a match, going 8-0 in dual matches. The strongest performance of the day for the No. 2 Irish women's team came against No. 1 Princeton, when it won 14-13 against the Tigers. Ameli said the breaks between matches allowed Notre Dame to rest and helped it achieve victory.
"We had a pretty big break between our second-to-last match and the match against Ohio State," Ameli said. "That turned out really well for us and we are focused for next week."
The men went 5-1 on the day. The No. 3 Notre Dame men's team dropped their only match against No. 1 Ohio State. Even in that match, the Irish out-fenced the Buckeyes in two of the three events. Notre Dame went 5-4 in both the foil and sabre, but lost the epee 7-2.
Notre Dame will now divert its attention to the Duke Duals, where the Irish will look to continue their streak of success against top teams. Ameli expects more strong competition this weekend, including the No. 10 Duke men. Nonetheless, the Irish stuck to the same routine this week as they have most of the season. Ameli said the team analyzed the positives and negatives of their last performance and will be prepared Saturday.
"Usually when we get back from a meet we have a day off and then we have a few days to just recap and look at what we did well and what areas we need to focus on," Ameli said. "I think we will be ready to go."
The Irish travel to Durham, N.C., today and begin fencing at the Duke Duals on Saturday before concluding competition Sunday.
Contact Brendan Bell at bbell2@nd.edu
