Duke Primed for NCAA Fencing Championships

DURHAM, N.C. – With six Blue Devils qualified, the Duke fencing team will conclude its season March 24-27 at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Waltham, Mass., hosted by Brandeis University. Competing for the Blue Devils will be seniors Isabella Barna (women's epee) and Charles Copti (men's saber), sophomores Pascual Di Tella (men's saber) and Haley Fisher (women's saber) and freshmen Kristen Coury (women's foil) and Bryn Hammarberg (men's epee).

The Blue Devils have been well represented at the NCAA Championships during head coach Alex Beguinet's time in Durham, sending at least one Duke fencer to the national meet 22 straight years and 30 out of his 31 seasons at Duke. At least four Blue Devils have made the trip to the NCAA Championships the past nine campaigns, including a program-record seven fencers in 2015. Duke's six qualifiers this season push the total number under Beguinet to 106, an average of 3.42 per year during his tenure.

Isabella Barna ▪ Women's Epee ▪ Senior ▪ Bend, Ore.
Barna is making her second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships after placing 19^th in women's epee in 2015. During the 2016 regular season, the senior out of Bend, Ore., posted a record of 39-16, highlighted by a 16-3 performance at the Northwestern Duals and a 6-2 showing during the team portion of the ACC Championships. Individually, Barna finished seventh in women's epee at the conference meet before placing 13^th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional.

Charles Copti ▪ Men's Saber ▪ Senior ▪ Wyckoff, N.J.
Capping his final season in Durham with his first trip to the NCAA Championships, Copti logged a regular season ledger of 49-34. He was named the ACC Male Fencer of the Week after an 11-4 performance at the Philadelphia Invitational, while also picking up a season-high 17 victories at the Northwestern Duals. Competing in the individual men's saber event at the ACC Championships, Copti finished seventh overall before placing ninth in the same competition at regionals.

Kristen Coury ▪ Women's Foil ▪ Freshman ▪ Far Hills, N.J.
In her debut season for the Blue Devils, Coury led all Duke foilists with a 51-27 record during the regular season, second in wins behind only Hammarberg among all Duke freshmen and third on the women's team. Coury stormed out of the gates to start the season, going 33-10 through her first two collegiate meets. After placing 10^th individually in women's foil at the ACC Championships, the Far Hills, N.J., rookie finished seventh at regionals, the top placing for the Duke women's team.

Pascual Di Tella ▪ Men's Saber ▪ Sophomore ▪ Vicente Lopez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
An All-American a season ago, Di Tella returns to the national stage after placing fifth in men's saber as a freshman. Now a sophomore, Di Tella led all Duke men and tied for the overall Blue Devil lead in wins during the 2016 regular season with a 57-18 record. The Buenos Aires native won at least two-thirds of his bouts in all five regular season meets, headlined by going 12-3 and 20-7 at the Penn State Duals and Northwestern Duals, respectively, to start the season before producing an unblemished 9-0 record during the team portion of the ACC Championships. Individually at the conference meet, Di Tella just missed qualifying for semifinals in men's saber with his fifth-place showing, then logged a runner-up finish at regionals to log the highest placing among the Blue Devils.

Haley Fisher ▪ Women's Saber ▪ Sophomore ▪ Kennesaw, Ga.
A 2015 NCAA qualifier in women's saber, Fisher will make her second consecutive trip to the national meet after placing 18^th as a freshman last season. Fisher has only gotten better in her second year in Durham, posting the highest winning percentage (.792) for Duke while tying for the lead in wins (57) during the 2016 regular season. The Kennesaw, Ga., product finished with a 25-5 ledger at the Northwestern Duals while posting 12-3 marks at both the Penn State Duals and Philadelphia Invitational. At the ACC Championships, Fisher captured the individual bronze medal in women's saber before going 7-2 in the team portion of the meet. Fisher then cemented her trip to the NCAA Championships by placing eighth at regionals.

Bryn Hammarberg ▪ Men's Epee ▪ Freshman ▪ Maplewood, N.J.
In what has been a tremendous rookie season, Hammarberg led all Duke freshmen and epeeists in victories with a 52-22 regular season record, one of just six Blue Devils to break the 50-win threshold. The rookie out of Maplewood, N.J., posted a winning record in each of the five regular season meets, highlighted by a 29-10 stretch between the Northwestern Duals and Duke Meet. After taking ninth at the ACC Championships in the individual men's epee competition, Hammarberg secured his NCAA Championships bid with a ninth-place showing at regionals.

At the NCAA Fencing Championships, fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers will advance to a single-elimination bracket of 15-touch bouts. A combined men's and women's team champion will be determined by the points earned by each individual fencer, with a student-athlete earning one point for each victory during the championships. The women will compete Thursday and Friday, followed by the men Saturday and Sunday.

The semifinal and final bouts for each weapon will be broadcast live on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN App. ESPNU will also air the semifinals and finals, along with other highlights from the championship, Wednesday, April 6 starting at 2:30 p.m.

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Duke Primed for NCAA Fencing Championships

Players Mentioned

Isabella Barna

Charles Copti

Kristen Coury

Pascual Di Tella

Haley Fisher

Bryn Hammarberg

Duke information

Duke Primed for NCAA Fencing Championships

Players Mentioned

Isabella Barna

Charles Copti

Kristen Coury

Pascual Di Tella

Haley Fisher

Bryn Hammarberg

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Duke information