PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team faced a tough field on Sunday at the Temple Invitational as the Blue Jays squared off against four ranked Division I teams. The Blue Jays picked up one win, beating the Stevens Ducks, 21-6.
 
Hopkins dropped a 17-10 decision to seventh-ranked Penn State in the first round. Senior Qilin Tong won two of his three bouts in a 5-4 loss for the Sabre squad. Sophomore Spencer Grossman Smisek did the same for the Foil squad. Freshmen Ethan Insler and Ayan Bhatnagar each won a bout in a 7-2 loss in the Epee.
 
JHU then fell 18-9 to third-ranked Princeton. Tong and sophomore Alex Jeffords each earned a win in a 7-2 loss in the Sabre. Senior Anthony Bae picked up two wins and the Foil squad lost a close one, 5-4. Senior Gabe Insler and sophomore Jorge Gana earned one win each as the Epee squad lost 7-2.
 
The Blue Jays lost a tough 14-13 battle to the St. John's Red Storm, ranked 11^th in the nation. Tong and Jeffords won two bouts each to lead the Sabre squad to a 5-4 win. Bae won two bouts of his three bouts, but the Foil squad lost 5-4. Sophomore Matthew Dao did the same in a 5-4 loss for the Epee squad.
 
Hopkins lost another close match, falling 15-12 to eighth-ranked Penn. Jeffords and senior William Hu earned one win each in a 7-2 loss in the Sabre. Grossman Smisek won two of his three bouts as the Foil squad lost 5-4. Dao won each of his three bouts to lead the Epee squad to a 6-3 win.
 
JHU wrapped up the day with a 21-6 win over Stevens. Tong and sophomore Larry Cai won two bouts each to lead the Sabre squad to a 5-4 win. The Foil squad then rolled to a 9-0 win, led by Bae and Grossman Smisek with three wins each. Ethan Insler won all three of his bouts to lead the Epee squad to a 7-2 win.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, March 3 at the MACFA Championships.
 
Notes: Grossman Smisek now ranks 23^rd in JHU history with 169 career Foil wins • Gabe Insler moved into a tie for ninth with 197 career Epee wins • Gana is now 21^st with 149 career Epee wins and Dao is 22^nd with 144 career Epee wins • Hu moved into a tie for 14^th with 197 career Sabre wins.