Sarah Borrmann Class: Freshman Hometown: Beaverton, OR High School: Beaverton Height: 5-5 Event: Sabre Birthdate: 11/06/1988 Club: Oregon Fencing Alliance

One of three newcomers to the Notre Dame sabre teams who continue the program's "Portland Pipeline," as members of the Oregon Fencing Alliance elite fencing academy that is coached by former Notre Dame assistant Ed Korfanty ... others from OFA who have gone on fence for the Irish include four-time All-Americans Patrick Ghattas (now an intern coach at ND) and Valerie Providenza (both from '03-'07), plus 2004 Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis and her fellow freshmen Eileen Hassett and Avery Zuck (a member of the Irish men's team) ... nationally-ranked fencer who is expected to combine with Hassett as the core of the Notre Dame women's fencing teams during the next four seasons ... was listed fourth on USFA U-20 women's sabre rankings (as of Nov. 15, 2007) and 11th among all U.S. women's sabreists ... also held FIE world rankings of 29th among U-20 women's sabreists (120th overall) ... makes excellent use of a modern style that reminds the Notre Dame coaches of a righthanded version of the lefthanded Zagunis ... an athletic bouter whose newer style includes minimizing of movements, different positioning of the blade, and a focus on the strategic use of distance (producing a decidedly different look from the traditional static approach to sabre fencing) ... opts for quick escapes rather than parries with the blade ... the only fencers ahead of her on the USFA U-20 women's sabre rankings include 17-year-old Becca Ward (also a product of OFA), current St. John's sophomore Dagmara Wozniak and Caroline Vloka ... the 10 above her in the overall USFA rankings include: former ND fencer Mariel Zagunis ('04 Olympic champion/'08 Olympic hopeful), Ward, Sada Jacobson ('04 Olympic bronze), Wozniak, current Penn State junior Caity Thompson (another OFA product), former Columbia fencer Emma Baratta, Vloka, current Ohio State fencer Eileen Grench, Alexis Jemal (2002 NCAA champ, while at Rutgers) and Hassett.

PREP & PERSONAL: Attended Beaverton High School while training at the Oregon Fencing Alliance ... placed ninth at the Junior World Cup in Odessa, Ukraine (Sept. '06) and then was seventh at the Jr. World Cup in Sosnowiec, Poland (Oct. '06), and adding a bronze-medal finish at the Junior World Cup in Frascati, Italy (Nov. '06) - behind Wozniak and Italy's Irene Vecchi ... has fenced several top international events in 2007, including the Jr. World Cup in Budapest (38th; Jan.), the Las Vegas Grand Prix (52nd; June) and five Senior World Cups: London (42nd; Feb.), Orleans, France (38th; Feb.), Havana, Cuba (24th; June), Klagenfurt, Austria (69th; May) and Gand, Belgium (26th; May) ... won USFA North American Cup event in Albuquerque, N.M. (Nov. '06) and was 11th the next month at N.A.C. in Richmond, Va. ... had impressive week at the USFA's 2006 Summer Nationals in Atlanta, finishing as runner-up in the senior-level bouts and placing third in the junior (U-19) ... finished 12th at the 2006 Jr. World Cup in Dormagen, Germany (Nov.) ... signed up for fencing at the age of 10) ... she combined with Hassett, Thompson and Ward to win the women's sabre gold medal at 2006 Summer Nationals (she also was a member of the U-19 gold-medal team) ... her results at 2005 Summer Nationals (Sacramento, Calif.) included placing eighth in the senior-level bouts, plus taking gold medal in the team event (also silver in the U-19 team) ... placed eighth at the 2004 Jr. World Cup in Louisville, Ky. ... born Nov. 6, 1988, in Cooper City, Fla. (has lived in Oregon most of her life) ... daughter of Bernie and Tina Borrmann ... full name is Sarah Victoria Borrmann ... enrolled in the First Year of Studies.