Jan. 23, 2012
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team picked up three big wins on Sunday at the Philadelphia Invitational. Hopkins bested NJIT, North Carolina and Haverford, while its only two losses came to ranked opponents. JHU fell to eighth-ranked Duke and seventh-ranked Penn. The Blue Jays improve to 5-4 on the season.
Hopkins opened the day with a 23-4 loss to Duke. The Blue Devils swept all three weapons and went 9-0 in the Sabre. Sophomore Evan Stafford and freshman Robert Goldhirsch each earned a win in the Foil, while sophomore Jay DeYoung and freshman Brian Redick each had a win in the Epee. The Blue Jays then picked up a 17-10 win over the NJIT Highlanders, to improve to 32-0 all-time in the series. Hopkins won a tight battle in the Sabre, 5-4, with freshman Aravind Menon clinching the win in the ninth bout. He and junior Nicolas Barbera each went 2-1 against the Highlanders. In the Foil, NJIT earned a 6-3 win. Hopkins then dominated in the Epee, winning 9-0, behind three wins from DeYoung.
JHU stopped a nine-match skid in the series with North Carolina, beating the Tar Heels 20-7 for its first win in the series since 2008 and just third ever. Barbera and Menon each won three bouts to lead the Blue Jays to an 8-1 win in the Sabre. Stafford also won all three of his bouts, while Goldhirsch won a pair in a 6-3 win in the Foil. Redick won three bouts and earned the clinching win in a 6-3 Blue Jay win in the Epee. Hopkins won its second straight, beating Haverford 19-8 in its next outing to snap a three-game losing streak in the series. Barbera, Menon and freshman Paul Vitale combined to shutout the Fords in the Sabre, winning 9-0. The Foil saw another 6-3 win for the Jays behind a combined five wins from Stafford and Goldhirsch. Haverford edged Hopkins, 5-4, in the Epee but it wasn't enough to take the match. Freshman Alex Szigeti led the Blue Jays by winning all three of his bouts.
Hopkins closed out the day with an 18-9 loss to seventh-ranked Penn. Menon won two bouts and Barbera earned a win, but the Quakers took the Sabre, 6-3. The Foil came down to the final bout, with Penn's William Goldhirsch, older brother of Hopkins' Robert Goldhirsch, edging junior Ben Wasser 5-3 to give the Quakers a 5-4 win. Penn then won the Epee, 7-2, to round out the match.
Menon finished with a 10-5 record on the day to improve to 20-6 on the season, while Barbera went 9-6 to move to 110-86 for his career. In the Foil, Stafford went 9-3 and is now 24-11 this year. Goldhirsch finished with six wins in his first outing for the Blue Jays. And in the Epee, Redick and freshman Jonathan Frame each won six bouts.
Hopkins returns to action on January 29 at Stevens Tech for the Ducks Invitational. The event is scheduled to start at 9:00 am.
