Nov. 11, 2009
HAVERFORD, PA - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team opened its season with five wins in seven bouts at the Haverford Invitational last Sunday. Hopkins defeated Virginia Tech (22-5), Florida (15-12), Yeshiva (23-4), William & Mary (21-6) and Virginia (23-4) but lost to North Carolina (18-9) and Haverford (17-10).
Against Virginia Tech, Hopkins dominated in all three weapons, including a 9-0 performance in the Sabre to take the match. Senior Harry Oppenheim (Weston, FL/University School of NSU) (2-0) and junior Nick Krywopusk (Richboro, PA/Princeton Day School (NJ)) (3-0) each went unbeaten in the Epeé, while senior Paul Nunley (Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees) went unbeaten in the Foil (2-0). In the Sabre, junior Max Wieder (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and freshman Sid Menon each went 3-0 to lead Hopkins.
Hopkins took all won all three weapons by identical 5-4 scores against Florida to take the overall match. Senior Ian McCue (Yardley, PA/Princeton Day School (NJ)) went 3-0 to lead JHU in the Foil. In the Epeé, Krywopusk and sophomore Kenny Felsenstein (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) each won two bouts, with Felsentstein picking up the clinching win. And in the Sabre, Wieder once again went 3-0, including the clinching win, to lead Hopkins.
JHU swept both the Foil and the Sabre en route to a dominating 23-4 win over Yeshiva. The Blue Jays won a tight 5-4 match in the Epeé. McCue and freshman Andrew Jung (Chester, NJ/West Morris Mendham) each went 3-0 in the Foil. In the Epeé, Krywopusk went 3-0, while Felsenstein won the clinching bout and went 2-1. And in the Sabre, junior Michael Fellows (Beverly, MA/St. John's Prep), freshman Nicolas Barbera (Mountainside, NJ/Union County) and Sid Menon all went 3-0.
Against William & Mary, 9-0 wins in the Foil and Sabre helped Hopkins overcome a 6-3 loss in the Epeé to win the match. McCue, Jung and freshman Ben Wasser all went 3-0 in the Foil, while Barbera and Wieder led the Blue Jays in the Sabre with a combined 6-0 record. Hopkins dominated in the Foil and Sabre against Virginia, sweeping both weapons by 9-0 scores to take the match. The Blue Jays edged out the Cavaliers, 5-4, in the Epeé with Krywopusk getting the clinching win.
In the loss to Haverford, the Fords won the Epeé and Foil by 6-3 margins and just edged out the Blue Jays, 5-4, in the Sabre. Barbera picked up a pair of wins in the Sabre for Hopkins. Against Carolina, Hopkins won a close 5-4 bout in the Sabre with Wieder picking up the deciding win. Carolina took the Foil (6-3) and the Epeé (8-1) to take the match.
Krywopusk led Hopkins in the Epeé on the day, going 14-7 to improve to 25-8 on the year. He now has 166 career wins in the Epeé, ranking him seventh in program history. McCue won 13 bouts in the Foil, while Jung and Wasser each won 11. And in the Sabre, Wieder had a team-best 16 wins, followed closely by Barbera with 15 wins and Menon with 12. Wieder is now 26-4 on the year and has 222 career wins, tying him for fifth in program history.
