(Edited to fix Horanyi's final bout against ND, it was vs. Castellani and not Meindardt.)
Ohio State's stranglehold on the Midwestern Fencing Conference men's team title continued on Sunday at Notre Dame's Joyce Center Fieldhouse, as the Buckeyes claimed their seventh straight MFC title. The Irish earlier in the day had won the men's sabre event, but OSU came through in the clutch by defeating ND in the men's foil (5-3) and epee (5-2) finals.
The Buckeyes squared the men's standings by winning the foil final, with OSU capturing the final two bouts after the match had been tied 3-3. Ohio State sophomore Colin Sutter opened match with a key win (5-3) over Steve Kubik, and two-time NCAA champion Andras Horanyi then emerged with a 5-4 victory over another ND sophomore All-American, Zach Schirtz, for a quick 2-0 lead.
The Irish battled back behind wins from freshman sensation Gerek Meinhardt (5-0, vs.sophomore Ben Parkins) and Kubik, who scored a big 5-4 upset of Horanyi. Meinhardt – a 2008 U.S. Olympian – briefly gave the Irish a 3-2 lead (with his 5-0 win over Sutter), but OSU went on win the match's final three bouts (behind the All-America duo of Horanyi and Parkins).
Parkins tied the match (3-3) with a 5-2 win over freshman Enzo Castellani and Horanyi then topped Castellani (5-3) to begin the third round. The clinching bout came minutes later, when Parkins defeated Kubik (5-3).
Attention shifted to the epee strip for the bouts that would decide the team title. The Buckeyes quickly took command, winning the first three bouts behind the talents of freshman Igor Tolkachev (5-3 vs. sophomore Greg Schoolcraft), senior All-American Jason Pryor (5-4 vs. another ND sophomore, Jacob Osborne) and junior Sean Harder (5-4 vs. senior All-American Karol Kostka).
Harder's victory over Kostka was a huge result for OSU, as the two-time All-American Kostka was fresh off winning the MFC individual men's epee title while Harder (a 2008 NCAA entrant) has struggled with consistent results in his bouts this season. Harder was the #12 seed entering Saturday's individual competition, but he ended up outside the final-32 (33rd).
Notre Dame battled back with its own upset win (Schoolcraft over Pryor, 5-3), followed by Kostka's 5-3 victory over Tolkachev in a quick rematch from Saturday's men's epee final. With OSU clinging to a one-point lead, Harder registed another clutch victory (5-2 over Osborne) and Pryor knocked off Kostka (also 5-2) in the clinching bout.
The men's epee final nearly was a moot point in regards to the overall team title, as Ohio State earlier had to survive a 5-4 semifinal battle with Wayne State. Much like they later would do against ND, the Buckeye epeeists won their first three bouts against WSU. Tolkachev opened the match with a one-point win over Mykhaylo Mazur (a junior transfer and former All-American at OSU) and Pryor followed with a shutout of Joseph Fresard.
Harder then previewed his hero status versus ND, with a 5-4 victory over two-time NCAA champion Slava Zingerman. The Warriros jumped back in the match with Mazur's 5-3 win over Pryor and a 5-4 victory by Zingerman (vs. Tolkachev) – but Harder won again, 5-2 over Fresard, to leave OSU one win shy of advancing (4-2).
Wayne State still had a chance at the comeback and pushed the match to a ninth and final bout, thanks to Zingerman's 5-3 win over Pryor and Mazur' victory by the same score (vs. Harder). But Tolkachev stayed steady and easily beat Fresard, 5-0, sending the Buckyes on to the epee final.