Feb. 27, 2008

Nine members of the Wayne State University men's and women's fencing teams have qualified for this Sunday's NCAA Midwest Regional at Detroit Mercy.

The regional will take place at Calihan Hall with fencing action set to begin at 9:00 a.m.

Qualifying for WSU were:

Freshman Karolina Budna (women's sabre), 52-7 record
Senior Justyna Konczalska (women's epee), 48-12 record
Sophomore Ann Bartoszewicz (women's sabre), 40-19 record
Freshman Jakub Gibczynski (men's sabre), 39-15 record
Sophomore Slava Zingerman (men's epee), 36-7 record
Redshirt freshman Emanuela Bercea (women's epee), 22-38 record
Freshman Anna Kotov (women's sabre), 14-45 record
Freshman Samantha Strassburg (women's foil), 12-46 record
Freshman Joe Fresard (men's epee), 10-40 record

Budna (Konin, Poland) joined the squad in January and has lost just seven bouts in dual meet competition. She placed seventh at last Saturday's Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC) championship on individual competition day to earn Second Team All-MFC honors.

Konczalska (Innsbruck, Austria) was fourth at the Penn State Garret Open and won the Michigan Open last fall. She was ninth last Saturday to earn Honorable Mention All-MFC accolades. Justyna was an All-American in both 2006 (First Team) and 2007 (Honorable Mention) at the NCAA Championship.

Bartoszewicz (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) was 17th at last Saturday's MFC Championship. She qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2007.

Gibczynski (Lodz, Poland) won the Michigan Open last fall and placed sixth at last Saturday's MFC Championship to earn Second Team All-MFC honors.

Zingerman (Ashkelon, Israel) was the MFC individual champion in 2008 and earned First Team All-MFC accolades for his accomplishment. He is also the defending NCAA Champion in the men's epee.

Bercea (Dearborn, Mich.) was a member of the 2006-07 squad but did not compete. This school year she was ninth at the Michigan Open and 19th at the MFC Championship.

Kotov (W. Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Western) is a 2006 high school graduate but is in her first year on the team. She was sixth at the Michigan Open and 32nd at the MFC Championship.

Strassburg (New Baltimore, Mich.) is a local product from Anchor Bay High School. She was fourth at the Michigan Open and 22nd at the MFC Championship.

Fresard (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) began competing in January in his first year on the squad.