POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team won six of its seven contests on Sunday at the Vassar Invitational. JHU's lone loss of the day came to 11^th-ranked Yale.
 
Hopkins opened the day with a 17-10 win over Sacred Heart. The Blue Jay Sabre squad picked up a 7-2 win, led by sophomore Alex Jeffords' three wins. The Foil squad grabbed a 5-4 win with sophomore Spencer Grossman Smisek and freshman Yi Peng Sha winning two bouts each. Junior Alex Paek clinched the win in the final bout. The Epee squad also pulled out a close 5-4 win, with freshman Ayan Bhatnagar winning all three of his bouts. Senior Gabe Insler secured the win in the ninth and final bout.
 
JHU then picked up a 15-12 win over Drew (blue squad). Freshman Leonid Kotov won three bouts to lead the Sabre squad to a 6-3 win. The Foil squad lost a 6-3 decision while the Epee squad won 6-3. Bhatnagar and sophomore Jorge Gana won two bouts each to the lead the Epeeists.
 
The Blue Jays cruised to a 22-5 win over the Wagner Seahawks. The Sabre squad won 7-2, led by Jeffords and his three wins. The Foil squad grabbed an 8-1 win with Paek and senior Anthony Bae combining for six wins. Freshman Ethan Insler won all three of his bouts to pace the Epee squad in a 7-2 win.
 
Hopkins followed that with a 22-5 win over Drew (green squad). The Sabre squad of Jeffords, senior Qilin Tong and freshman Miles Zhou, did not lose a bout. The Foil squad turned the same trick, with Paek, Sha and sophomore Alan Zheng combining for all nine wins. The Epee squad lost a close one, 5-4, led by Gabe Insler's three wins.
 
The Blue Jays then ran into a tough Bulldog squad, falling 18-9. The Epee squad grabbed a 5-4 win with Gana winning all three of his bouts, including the clinching one. Zheng won two bouts to lead the Foil squad in a 4-5 loss, while the Sabre squad lost 9-0.
 
Hopkins rebounded with a 20-7 win over host Vassar, ranked sixth in Division III. The Sabre and Epee squads each earned 8-1 wins, while the Foil squad lost a tough 5-4 decision. Kotov led the Sabre squad with three wins, while Bhatnagar did the same in the Epee. Grossman Smisek and Zheng won two bouts each for the Foil squad.
 
JHU then wrapped up the day with a 25-2 win over Denison. Kotov and Zhou combined to go 6-0 to lead the Sabre squad to an 8-1 win. Grossman Smisek and Paek did the same as the Foil squad won 8-1. And in the Epee, Bhatnagar, Gabe Insler and Ethan Insler combined to win all nine bouts.
 
Hopkins returns to action next Saturday at the Columbia Invitational.
 
Notes: Zheng now ranks 20^th in JHU history with 186 career Foil wins • Gabe Insler moved into 13^th place with 163 career Epee wins • Hu is now tied for 21^st with 163 career Sabre wins.