Duke Invitational

JHU Invitational

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team went 6-1 this past weekend, splitting a pair of bouts at Duke and then sweeping the field at its home MACFA Round Robin. The Blue Jays are now 12-5 on the season as they head into the MACFA Championship. On Saturday, Hopkins defeated North Carolina before falling to host and ninth-ranked Duke. JHU then beat Cornell, Haverford, Rutgers, Lafayette and Drew at home on Sunday.

Hopkins opened the weekend with a 16-11 win over North Carolina, with wins in the Foil and Epee. The Blue Jays took the Foil by an 8-1 score as juniors Glenn Balbus and Jay Petrie combined for six wins. Junior Mark Zimmermann and freshman Denis Routkevitch each went 3-0 to lead Hopkins to a 7-2 win in the Epee. The Tar Heels claimed a win in the Sabre, 8-1, with senior Aravind Menon picking up the Jays' lone win.

Duke beat Hopkins 17-10 with a sweep of all three weapons. The Blue Devils edged the Blue Jays, 5-4, in both the Sabre and the Foil while claiming a 7-2 win in the Epee. Sophomore Patrick Rose led Hopkins in the Sabre with a pair of wins and in the Foil, it was Petrie and Balbus with two wins apiece. Zimmermann paced the Jays with two wins in the Epee.

Hopkins opened the day Sunday with a 19-8 win over Cornell and swept all three weapons. Freshman Sandy Vingoe won all three of his bouts in leading JHU to a 6-3 win in the Sabre. Hopkins pulled out a 5-4 win in the Epee, winning the final five bouts to take the win. Routkevitch and Zimmermann each won two and Routkevitch clinched the win in the ninth and final bout. The Blue Jays cruised to an 8-1 win in the Foil, led by Balbus with his three wins.

JHU followed with a 20-7 win over Haverford, with wins in the Sabre and Foil. The Fords grabbed a 5-4 win in the Epee and four different Blue Jays picked up a win in the weapon. Freshman Jared LeBron went 3-0 in the Foil to lead the Jays to a 7-2 win. And in the Sabre, Rose, Vingoe and freshman David Austin went a combined 9-0 for Hopkins. Next up, Hopkins won all three weapons to best Rutgers, 23-4. Three wins from Rose led the Blue Jays to a 6-3 win in the Sabre. In the Epee, sophomore Dylan Etzel and freshman Milan Patel led JHU with two wins each, as it won 8-1. Hopkins dominated the Foil with a 9-0 win, led by Petrie's three wins.

In round four, Hopkins beat Lafayette, 23-4, with a sweep of all three weapons. Five different Blue Jays recorded a win, and sophomore Nathaniel Green secured the win in the eighth bout, as they won 5-4. Those would be the Leopards only four wins as the Jays cruised to 9-0 wins in both the Foil and Sabre. LeBron led the way for Hopkins in the Foil with three wins, while Rose, Austin add sophomore Daniel Dembner each won three in the Sabre.

Hopkins closed out the day with a 26-1 win over Drew. Five different Blue Jays fenced versus the Rangers in the Epee, and freshman Max White led the way with three wins in the 8-1 win. In the Sabre, Vingoe, Rose and Dembner each won three bouts for JHU. And in the Foil, LeBron, freshmen Ian Maddox and Michael Pozin led the Blue Jays to a 9-0 win.

Rose led the Sabre squad with a combined 16 wins on the weekend as he improved to 38-17 on the season and earned his 100th career win. Vingoe also reached double digits, totaling 11 wins on the weekend. Zimmermann paced the Epee squad with nine wins and is now 35-22 on the season and 192-116 in his career. In the Foil, it was LeBron leading the way with a 14-3 record as he is now 32-15 on the season. Balbus (12 wins) and Petrie (12) also reached double digits, moving to 38-12 and 31-20, respectively.

Hopkins is back in action on Sunday, March 1 as the Blue Jays host the MACFA Championships.