Barron Nydam Class: Freshman Hometown: Rancho Santa Fe, CA High School: Santa Fe Christian Height / Weight: 6-0 / 170 Event: Sabre Birthdate: 03/17/1989 Club: Spartak Fencing Club

Talented newcomer who will combine with classmate Avery Zuck and junior Bll Thanhouser for yet another strong sabre trio ... joins Zuck in filling spots held by graduated All-Americans Patrick Ghattas (currently an intern assistant coach with the Irish) and Matt Stearns ... turned in an impressive result during 2007 fall semester by winning junior-level (Under-20) men's sabre competition at North American Cup in Dallas ... bested Daryl Homer in title bout to finish atop big 179 field at that event ... followed up that performance with 4th-place finish at annual Penn State Open (fall '07), with 15-9 quarterfinal win over North Carolina's Bob Ziechmann before losing in semifinal to Ohio State's Mike Momtselidze (9-15) and in 3rd-place bout versus PSU's Franz Boghicev (12-15) ... was listed 28th in the USFA overall rankings for all U.S. men's sabre fencers (also was 9th in USFA's U-20 men's sabre rankings, as of Nov. 15, 2007) ... combines with Thanhouser to give Irish pair of dangerous lefthanders on sabre squad ... has tremendous natural speed and sturdy 6-foot-1 frame ... emotional competitor who should benefit as he gains experience on college level ... the eight fencers above him in USFA U-20 rankings included: Raskyrie Davidson, Aleksander Ochocki, Harrison Mahaffey, Jeff Spear, Homer, Zuck, Daniel Bak and Marty Williams ... served as alternate with U.S. team at 2005 Cadet/Under-17 World Championship ... owns a world ranking of 74 (as of Nov. 15, 2007), after ranking as high as 58th in world during 2006-07.

2006-07 EVENTS: Had a strong 12th-place finish (field of 56) in first Junior World Cup of season (in Odessa, Ukraine; Sept. '06) ... competed the next month at Junior World Cup in Sosnowiec, Poland (96th of 105) and then was 68th out of 133 fencers at the Jr. World Cup in Dormagen, Germany (Nov.) ... competed at a pair of World Cups to open 2007 (both in Jan.), placing 52nd out of 136 in Budapest and 13th in a field of 33 in Montreal ... also fenced in the Las Vegas Senior Grand Prix (June '07) and placed 74th among sabre fencers from all age groups (field of 99) ... opened USFA competition in the 2006-07 season by placing 16th in large U-20 field (155) at the North American Cup in Albuquerque, N.M. (Nov. '06) ... fenced the next month at the N.A.C. in Richmond, Va., versus a talented overall men's sabre field of 103 that included four current/future ND fencers among the top-30 finishers (Thanhouser 8th, Ghattas 22nd, Zuck 27th, Nydam 30th; no U-20 bouting) ... went on to place 55th out of 141 total men's sabreists at another elite-level N.A.C., in Columbus, Ohio (Jan. '07; also 22nd out of 133 in U-20 bouts) and then was 18th out of 97 total men's sabre entrants at N.A.C. in Tucson, Ariz. ... added impressive 5th-place showing at Junior Olympics, in Denver (field of 179; Feb.) and then placed 18th in an overall field of 43 at 2007 Summer Nationals, in Miami (9th among 107 in the U-19s).

PREP & PERSONAL: Attended Santa Fe Christian High School while training for seven years under coach Dmitriy Guy (a former fencing standout in the U.S.S.R.) at the Spartak Fencing Club, in San Diego ... first cracked the USFA U-20 men's sabre rankings in 2004-05 (24th) before rising to 12th in '05-'06 and 10th in '06-'07 (his top U-17 ranking was 6th) ... competed in two Cadet World Cups (U-17) during 2005-06 season, placing 17th at the event in Konin, Poland (Sept.) - where he also was a member of the winning U-17 team(with his fellow U.S. sabreists) - and then finishing 18th the next month in Godollo, Hungary ... had a busy domestic schedule in 2005-06, when he competed at three North American Cup events - in Albuquerque (3rd in the cadet/U-17; Nov.), Pittsburgh (27th among all men's sabreists; Dec.) and Sacramento, Calif. (13th, again in open age group; April) - in addition to placing 21st at the Junior Olympics (in a U-20 field of 173; also 8th out of 181 in the U-17 bouts; Feb. '06) ... also won the 2006 Senior Pacific Coast Championships (in both the individual and team events) and was runner-up at the Duel in the Desert ... earlier placed 13th at the Junior World Cup in Louisville, Ky., and was an alternate with the U.S. team at the 2005 Cadet (U-17) World Championships ... his results at the 2005 Junior Olympics included 13th in the U-20 bouts (also 7th in the U-17s) and he went on to post a 3rd-place finish in the U-16 bouting at the USFA 2005 National Championships (held in Sacramento, Calif.) ... won San Diego junior- and senior-level championships in 2005 while placing second at '05 Senior Pacific Coast Championships (also team champion) ... his first noteworthy national finish came in April of 2004 (7th at the N.A.C. held in Atlanta) ... finished as the Y-14 points champion during the 2004 San Francisco Super Regional Youth Circuit and also was the champion of the San Diego Senior and Junior Divisions in 2004 ... had matching 3rd-place finishes in U-20 and U-17 bouts at '04 Jr. Pacific Coast Championships ... won cadet/U-17 points title for 2004 Southern California/Nevada Jr. Circuit ... his sister Alexa also is a sabre fencer ... born March 17, 1989, in San Diego ... son of Bill and Dorothy Nydam ... full name is Barron William Nydam ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... intends to major in business.