Feb. 10, 2013

Duke_Invite

DURHAM, NC - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team picked up wins over North Carolina and Wayne State at the Duke Invitational on Saturday to go 2-3 on the day. The Blue Jays improve to 13-8 on the season while earning back-to-back wins over the Tar Heels for the first time in program history. Freshman Josiah Yiu led the Blue Jays with an 11-3 record on the day.

Hopkins opened the day with a 19-8 win over Wayne State, sweeping all three weapons in the process. Yiu won all three of his bouts in the Sabre, while sophomore Paul Vitale won a pair as the squad won 6-3. Freshman John Petrie also won all three of bouts and junior Evan Stafford and sophomore Robert Goldhirsch each added two wins as the Foil squad picked up a 7-2 win. The Epee squad earned a 6-3 win behind three wins from freshman Andy Huang.

Hopkins then lost a tough 17-10 decision to second-ranked Notre Dame and won the Foil. Yiu and Vitale each won a bout in a 7-2 loss in the Sabre. Petrie and Balbus won two bouts each and Petrie clinched the 5-4 win in the Foil. The Irish then won the Epee 6-3, with freshmen Mark Zimmerman and Brent Schottenfeld and junior Jay DeYoung each winning a bout for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays rebounded with a 15-12 win over the Tar Heels, winning the Foil and Epee. North Carolina edged JHU, 5-4, in the Sabre though the Blue Jays got two wins from Yiu. Petrie and freshman Glenn Balbus combined for four wins in the Foil as the Jays won 6-3. And in the Epee, Zimmerman and Huang each won two bouts to lead Hopkins to a 5-4 win as Zimmerman clinched it in the final bout.

Hopkins faced the number one team in the nation in Penn State in round four, falling 22-5. Yiu won two bouts in the Sabre, but the Nittany Lions won the weapon 6-3. Balbus picked up the Blue Jays' lone win in the Foil as the Lions won 8-1. And in the Epee, Zimmerman picked up Hopkins' point as PSU won 8-1.

Tenth-ranked Duke avenged its loss to Hopkins just two weeks earlier with a 16-11 win over the Jays. The Blue Jays won the Sabre by a narrow 5-4 score, led by Yiu's 3-0 outing. The Blue Devils claimed the Foil by a 6-3 score, though Petrie, Goldhirsch and Balbus each won a bout for the Jays. Duke took the Epee by the same 6-3 score while DeYoung had two wins for Hopkins.

Yiu won 11 out of his 14 bouts and is now an impressive 42-12 in his rookie campaign. Petrie went 8-4 to lead the Foil squad, while Balbus went 6-4. And in the Epee, Zimmerman had a squad best six wins.

Hopkins is back in action on Sunday, February 10 at home with MACFA round robin action at Goldfarb Gym.

Duke Invitational Records
Epee
Jay DeYoung ? 4-8
Andy Huang ? 5-4
Brent Schottenfeld ? 3-7
Mark Zimmerman ? 6-8

Foil
Glenn Balbus ? 6-4
Robert Goldhirsch ? 4-8
John Petrie ? 8-4
Evan Stafford ? 4-4
Ben Wasser ? 0-3

Sabre
Nicolas Barbera ? 0-7
Aravind Menon ? 4-9
Paul Vitale ? 5-6
Josiah Yiu ? 11-3