Blue Devils Strong in Season Opener

Saturday, January 16

State College, Pa.

All Day

Duke University

Penn State Duals

Monti & Copti Net Top-40 Finishes at North American Cup

Blue Devils Strong in Season Opener

1/16/2016 10:11:00 PM | Fencing

By: Duke Sports Information

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Duke men's and women's fencing teams opened the 2016 season at the Penn State Duals Saturday, with both squads posting 3-2 records on the day against a number of ranked opponents.

Tabbed ninth in the preseason poll, the Blue Devil men picked up wins against No. 1 Columbia (15-12), Haverford (21-6) and Yale (16-11), while falling to No. 3 University of Penn (17-10) and No. 5 Penn State (18-9). On the women's side, Duke topped No. 8 Penn State (15-12), Haverford (22-5) and Yale (17-10), but fell in close contests to No. 2 Columbia (17-10) and No. 9 University of Penn (17-10).

After an All-American season as a freshman, sophomore Pascual Di Tella paced the Duke men and the saber squad on the day with an individual record of 12-3, while senior Charles Copti added nine wins for the sabers. Leading the men's epee group and joining Di Tella in racking up double-digit victories was sophomore Dakota Nollner, finishing with a 10-5 ledger, followed by freshman epeeist Bryn Hammarberg logging an 8-4 mark in his first collegiate meet. In men's foil, freshman Will Feldman and sophomore Jan Maceczek highlighted the day for Duke, finishing with eight and six wins, respectively.

Competing for the women, Duke again featured the strong saber duo of sophomores Haley Fisher and Jennifer Ling. Both qualifiers for last season's NCAA Fencing Championships, the pair end the meet with records of 12-3 and 10-5 respectively. Junior Julia Lee and rookie Kristen Coury paced the Blue Devil foil squad in the season opener, as both Lee and Coury captured 11 victories on the day. Rounding out the competition, senior Isabella Barna led the women's epee squad with a 7-6 mark, while freshman Claudia Wrampelmeier went 7-8 in her Duke debut.

Duke will return to the state of Pennsylvania next weekend to compete in the Philadelphia Invitational Jan. 23-24. Full team and individual results from the Penn State Duals are listed below:

Duke Men (3-2)
Duke 21, Haverford 6
Penn State 18, Duke 9
University of Penn 17, Duke 10
Duke 15, Columbia 12
Duke 16, Yale 11

Men's Epee (2-3)
Dakota Nollner: 10-5
Bryn Hammarberg: 8-4
Dean Ischiropoulos: 7-8
Michael DeVito: 0-3

Men's Foil (2-3)
Will Feldman: 8-6
Jan Maceczek: 6-5
Ethan Yu: 3-5
Jake Shulman: 3-9

Men's Saber (3-2)
Pascual Di Tella: 12-3
Charles Copti: 9-6
Peter Yang: 5-10

Duke Women (3-2)
Duke 22, Haverford 5
Duke 15, Penn State 12
University of Penn 17, Duke 10
Columbia 17, Duke 10
Duke 17, Yale 10

Women's Epee (2-3)
Isabella Barna: 7-6
Claudia Wrampelmeier: 7-8
Camille Esnault: 5-6
Rita Somogyi: 1-5

Women's Foil (3-2)
Julia Lee: 11-2
Kristen Coury: 11-4
Samantha Lee: 4-8
Cathy Chi: 2-3

Women's Saber (2-3)
Haley Fisher: 12-3
Jennifer Ling: 10-5
Dara Buggay: 4-11

#GoDuke