Jan. 28, 2013
Philadelphia Invite
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team won four of its six bouts at the Philadelphia Invitational, including a win over ranked opponent. Hopkins earned wins over North Carolina (14-13), Haverford (16-11), Drew (20-7) and Duke (14-13). JHU suffered losses to eighth-ranked Penn (18-9) and Sacred Heart (15-12). The Blue Jays improve to 11-5 on the season with their performance in Philadelphia.
Hopkins opened with a thrilling one-point win over North Carolina for its second win in the last three meetings with the Tar Heels. The Blue Jays earned wins in the Foil (6-3) and Epee (5-4) to secure the win, while the Heels claimed victory in the Sabre (6-3). Junior Evan Stafford and freshmen John Petrie and Glenn Balbus each won two bouts in the Foil to lead the Jays to the three-point win. In the Epee, freshman Mark Zimmerman won all three of his bouts, including the clinching one in the final bout. Freshman Josiah Yiu won two of his three bouts to lead JHU in the Sabre.
Hopkins then faced off against Haverford and swept all three weapons to take the team win. Sophomore Robert Goldhirsch on two bouts while Balbus claimed the clinching victory as JHU took the Foil by a 5-4 score. In the Epee, Zimmerman, junior Jay DeYoung and freshman Andy Hunag each won two bouts in a 6-3 win. And in the Sabre, Yiu led the way with three wins in three bouts, including the clinching one, as the Blue Jays topped the Fords 5-4. Hopkins then won with a little more cushion against Drew, topping the Rangers 20-7. Petrie paced the Jays in the Foil with three wins as JHU won the weapon 6-3. Zimmerman won all three of his bouts in a 7-2 win in the Epee and Yiu once again went 3-0 in a 7-2 win in the Sabre.
Hopkins then faced eighth-ranked Penn with the Quakers sweeping all three weapons by 6-3 scores. Stafford, Petrie and freshman Johnathan Mui each won a bout in the Foil. It was the same story in the Epee as Zimmerman, Huang and freshman Brent Schottenfeld each earned a win. Sophomore Aravind Menon led the Jays with two wins in three bouts in the Sabre. Against the ninth-ranked Blue Devils, the Blue Jays won just one weapon but picked up enough wins in the other two to take the win. It is Hopkins' first win over Duke since 2006 and is the first over a ranked opponent since an 18-9 win over ninth-ranked Brandeis on February 9, 2008. Hopkins won the Foil handily, with three wins from Petrie and two from Stafford as the Jays won 7-2. The Devils took a close 5-4 decision in the Epee and a 6-3 decision in the Sabre.
JHU closed out the day with a tough 15-12 loss to Sacred Heart, which is just one spot out of the top 10. The Blue Jays won the Sabre (6-3) but the Highlanders claimed wins in the Foil (5-4) and Epee (7-2) to edge out the Jays for the team win. Balbus led the Jays in the Foil with a pair of wins while DeYoung and Huang each earned a win in the Epee. In the Sabre, sophomore Paul Vitale won all three of his bouts and Menon won a pair.
Petrie led the way for the Blue Jays on the day with an 11-7 record, while Zimmerman and Menon each went 10-8. DeYoung, who won seven bouts on the day, reached the 100-win mark for his career with his fifth win of the day. Hopkins will be back in action on Saturday, February 9 at the Duke Invitational.
