Duke Fencing Closes Regular Season With Dominant Performances, Women Sweep 5-0 And Men Finish 4-1
Duke Fencing Closes Regular Season With Dominant Performances, Women Sweep 5-0 And Men Finish 4-1
Blog Article
Duke's fencing team went a combined 9-1 on the weekend. Photo by Abby Perry | The Chronicle
Duke fencing competed in its last regular season tournament this weekend, hosting its annual home meet Saturday and traveling to rival North Carolina’s campus for the Miller Invitational Sunday. Fresh off of upsetting the No. 1 ranked and defending NCAA champion Harvard last weekend, the team entered Saturday in high spirits and hoping to take its momentum into the postseason.
The Blue Devils have home field advantage only once during the regular season. The home meet, recently renamed the Beguinet Classic for former head coach Alex Beguinet, is a chance for fencers to showcase their best in front of a crowd of exuberant friends and family. The No. 6 women’s fencing squad did just that, sweeping the visiting teams 5-0 to extend its win streak to 15. On the road in Chapel Hill, the men’s team defeated four squads, with the only loss coming against No. 3 Notre Dame.
“I'm very proud of both the men and the women because they delivered under pressure at home,” head coach Omar Elgeziry said. “I’m very happy overall with the performance.”
The women’s foil squad put on a particularly outstanding performance, finishing Saturday with a 33-12 record. They were led by junior Skylar Knight, who recorded six consecutive wins against No. 3 Brandeis and No. 1 MIT — both DIII — to go 9-1. The Palo Alto, Calif., native was not afraid to chase an opponent down the strip or engage in a prolonged physical clash of swords. Knight’s fierce offensive capabilities left many opposing fencers feeling off balanced, explaining the often lopsided scores she left in her wake. Junior Rachel Koo logged eight victories herself to replicate her dominant result at the Eric Sollee Invitational earlier this month.
The epee squad, while the smallest of the three in size, was just as formidable. Four members of the squad collected at least seven wins Saturday. Freshman Eiry Du capped off her first regular season at Duke with several big-time wins over Brandeis to take down the Judges 9-0 in the matchup. After closing out two back-to-back 5-4 victories, the Shanghai native let out a joyous scream to her cheering squadmates gathered around the strip. The veteran epeeists had their own fair share of success, with sophomores Katie Lin and Vanessa Lin taking eight bouts each.
The women’s sabreuses came up clutch for the Blue Devils this weekend as the only squad with a winning record against all five opposing schools. Sophomore Victoria Gorman and senior Kavya Menke won six bouts a piece, with Gorman logging three wins over No. 13 Penn State to give the Blue Devils the edge. By the end of Saturday, the women’s team had taken each head-to-head by at least three wins – a testament to the strength of all three squads.
Miller Invitational
Heading into the Miller Invitational in Chapel Hill, No. 10 Duke looked to build upon the women’s strong showing Saturday. It did just that, finishing 4-1 and defeating MIT, Johns Hopkins, Brandeis and Penn State.
Against MIT — the fourth-ranked Division III squad in the country — Duke excelled in both sabre and epee, winning each 6-3 despite losing the foil bouts 7-2. Three key victories swung the sabre rounds in Duke’s favor, all coming from freshman Lev Ermakov, who had two incredible comeback victories and a 5-0 rout to start the day. In epee, Duke once again showcased its young stars, as freshman Giulio Pech won two close bouts, both by just a one-point margin.
“We had a big freshman class come in, and I feel they match well with our upperclassmen. It feels that the energy and the team dynamic is getting better and better,” Elgeziry said. “Obviously, winning is the cherry on the top.”
In foil, the Blue Devils’ two victories proved crucial, as Duke narrowly escaped with a win, securing 14 bouts to MIT’s 13.
The team’s next match was against No. 2 Notre Dame. For the most part, the match was evenly contested between the two highly ranked teams, but the Blue Devils’ sabre squad was routed 8-1 by the Fighting Irish, with the lone victory coming from junior Justin Morrill. The bouts in foil and epee were tightly contested but ultimately went Notre Dame’s way, 5-4 in each.
When reflecting on the loss to the Fighting Irish, Coach Elgeziry reminded his team to stay humble and grounded, especially when facing strong opponents like Notre Dame. He emphasized the importance of understanding the nature of competition against powerhouse teams and noted that despite the loss, this was an invaluable growth opportunity following their recent success.
The remaining matches featured three consecutive victories against No. 3 Brandeis (DIII), No. 7 Penn State, and No. 2 Johns Hopkins (DIII), as the Blue Devils bounced back from their defeat. The freshmen stepped up, with foilists Joseph Glasson recording six wins and Owen Li seven. Ermakov also contributed, winning five bouts across the three matches.
In addition to celebrating their many wins on the piste, the team also honored its six senior fencers with Saturday’s Senior Day ceremony. This weekend was a testament to the tight-knit and supportive culture of this Duke team, with underclassmen cheering from the stands as each senior’s name was called. With the women’s and men’s squads competing on different days, the entire team also showed out on Saturday and Sunday to support their counterparts on the strip.
“We're getting better, not just on the strip but also off the strip,” said Elgeziry. “I see the team camaraderie … You always take care of each other.”
The Blue Devils will return to Chapel Hill in two weeks time for the ACC Championships, which they last won in 2021.
“I feel that we're in a very good spot mentally and emotionally,” Elgeziry said. “We're feeling good about the win, and we can see it and taste it. I advise them to stay grounded and just to remember that the job is not done yet.”