Duke Sweeps Men’s and Women’s ACC Team Titles

Sunday, February 28

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Duke University

ACC Championship

2021 Men's & Women's ACC Fencing Champions

Duke Sweeps Men’s and Women’s ACC Team Titles

2/28/2021 7:43:00 PM | Fencing

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Duke fencing team had a historic day, sweeping both ACC Team Championship titles to close out the 2021 conference championship Sunday at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The women's team title marks the first in program history while the men win their second after capturing it in 2018.

"I'm 10 years older today because of all the pressure I got today," head coach Alex Beguinet said. "That is wonderful pressure. I'm very happy I'm 10 years older today. I'm so happy to have those ladies win and those guys. I feel great."

The Blue Devil women defeated Boston College (20-7) to open up the women's team competition before going on to claim a 16-11 victory over host North Carolina to capture the team crown. Junior Zoe Superville was named the MVP in the women's championship with her standout performance. After posting a 13-0 record and winning the individual foil competition Saturday, the Woodmere, N.Y., native was 6-0 during the team championships.

Capturing the title wasn't as simple for the men as the three teams forced a tie break fence-off for first place. In regular competition, Duke fell to Boston College (14-13) but defeated North Carolina (16-11) to force the fence-off.

Duke, Boston College and North Carolina each chose a single fencer to represent them in the tie break. In the first round, the Blue Devils defeated Boston College (2-1) as epeeist Joe Choo and foilist Finn Hossfeld captured wins, allowing Duke to advance to the second round against the Tar Heels.

In a battle for the ACC title, Hossfeld, Kevin Chao and Ping Ping Kitsiriboon took the strips for Duke. Kitsiriboon defeated his opponent 5-3 just before Hossfeld fell to his North Carolina foe (4-5). Seconds later, Chao clinched the title for Duke as time expired on the epee clock, allowing him to win 3-2.

The women's foil squad was undefeated today and was led by MVP Superville with a flawless 6-0 performance, followed by rookie Christina Ferrari (5-1) and senior Julia Gianneschi (4-1). For women's saber, sophomore Anneke Zegers spearheaded the saberists with a 5-1 day ledger while Maria Papadopoulos and Huda Aldadah were 3-3 each in epee.

Senior captain Brycen Rushing headlined the men's contingent with a 4-1 record as men's foil went 1-1. Saberists Ping Ping Kitsiriboon and Stephen Kim went 4-2 each while Hossfeld and Sam Gruber (foil) went 4-2. Joe Choo posted a 4-2 ledger for the epee squad.

Next up, qualifying Blue Devils will have some time before the 2021 NCAA Fencing Championship March 25-28 in State College, Pa.

For more information on Duke fencing, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeFEN".

#GoDuke

WOMEN'S TEAM (2-0)
Duke def. Boston College, 20-7
Duke def. North Carolina, 16-11

MEN'S TEAM (1-1)
Boston College def. Duke, 14-13
Duke def. North Carolina, 18-9

TIE-BREAKER (2-0)
Duke def. Boston College, 2-1
Duke def. North Carolina, 2-1

MEN'S SABER
Ben Stone 0-3
Ping Ping Kitsiriboon 4-2
San Ha Lim 1-2
Stephen Kim 4-2

WOMEN'S SABER
Alex Gorman 3-3
Zsofia Walter 4-2
Anneke Zegers 5-1
Gabrielle Zegers

MEN'S FOIL
Brycen Rushing 4-1
Finn Hossfeld 4-2
Sam Gruber 4-2
David Tierney 1-0

WOMEN'S FOIL
Zoe Superville 6-0
Christina Ferrari 5-1
Lulu Tang 0-1
Julia Gianneschi 4-1

MEN'S EPEE
Danny Campbell III 2-4
Kevin Chao 3-3
Jason Post
Joe Choo 4-2

WOMEN'S EPEE
Maria Papadopoulos 3-3
Huda Aldadah 3-3
Sarah Lurye 1-1
Chloe Beittel 2-2