Blue Devils Complete Fall at Elite Invitational

Sunday, November 17

Philadelphia, Pa.

Duke University

Elite Invitational

Duke and North Carolina fenced in Card Gym.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Complete Fall at Elite Invitational

11/17/2024 8:30:00 PM | Fencing

View Complete Results

PHILADELPHIA - The Duke fencing team closed fall competition Sunday at the Elite Invitational, hosted by Penn. The No. 6 women finished 3-2 while the No. 10 men went 2-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The sixth-ranked Duke women picked up wins over Air Force (22-5), No. 4 Princeton (14-13) and No. 14 Stanford (20-7) and fell to No. 3 Columbia (16-11) and No. 10 Ohio State (19-8).
The ninth-ranked Blue Devil men downed No. 4 Princeton (15-12) and No. 6 Ohio State (14-13) and dropped decisions to Air Force (14-13), No. 3 Columbia (17-10) and Stanford (22-5).
Katie Lin (epee) headlined the women's squad with 10 victories while Natalie Olsen (saber) was just behind with nine. Kunling Tong (saber), Charlotte Koenig (foil) and Rachel Koo (foil) each added eight wins.
On the men's side, Duke was led by William Holz (saber) with nine wins while Ethan Boroditsky (epee), Allen Marakov (epee) and Peyton Young (epee) secured seven.
Full results from the competition can be found below.

QUOTE

"This was a good experience for our fencing team. On the women's side, we started strong and focused against Air Force. Columbia was a challenging bout given its team depth. We put up a fight. It was very good preparation to wake us up to face the following two teams with Princeton and Stanford. I was very happy with how our woman held their own in those two matches, especially against Princeton in a very tight, 14-13, win for us. I was very proud of that win. Towards the end, we fell short with Ohio State. Overall, it was a good showing from our women's team. On the men's side, it was a slower start. There were a lot of unnecessary mistakes that cost us a bout. That was a good lesson for us early in the day. Columbia was a very challenging match for us, facing a team full of world team members. We set the tone for Princeton. That was a very good bout. Against Stanford, the focus drifted and we struggled to close. In the final bout with Ohio State, the men really locked in to finish the day strong. It was a very good win. Overall, I'm very happy with the experience our fencers gained and all the lessons we learned. We know there are a lot of adjustments we need to make as we prepare and come back in January for the Philadelphia Invitational." - head coach Omar Elgeziry

UP NEXT

Duke will open its spring 2025 season at the Philadelphia Invitational January 18-19.

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

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No. 6 Duke Women | 3-2
No. 6 Duke def. Air Force, 22-5 (S7-2, F9-0, E6-3)
No. 3 Columbia def. No. 6 Duke, 16-11 (S3-6, F7-2, E6-3)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 4 Princeton, 14-13 (S6-3, F4-5, E4-5)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 14 Stanford, 20-7 (S5-4, F7-2, E8-1)
No. 10 Ohio State def. No. 6 Duke, 19-8 (S6-3, F6-3, E7-2)

WOMEN'S SABER
Kavya Menke 4-1
Kunling Tong 8-2
Hava Stone 4-4
Natalie Olsen 9-6
Victoria Gorman 2-5

WOMEN'S FOIL
Rachel Koo 4-2
Skylar Knight 5-5
Sophia Shen 3-6
Charlotte Koenig 8-5
Zizi Newhard 1-2

WOMEN'S EPEE
Rachel Kowalsky 8-7
Aretha Gao 1-4
Monica Balakrishnan 4-6
Katie Lin 10-5
Eiry Du 0-0

No. 10 Duke Men | 2-3
Air Force def. No. 10 Duke, 14-13 (S3-6, F7-2, E4-5)
No. 3 Columbia def. No. 10 Duke, 17-10 (S5-4, F7-2, E5-4)
No. 10 Duke def. No. 4 Princeton, 15-12 (S6-3, F3-6, E6-3)
Stanford def. No. 10 Duke, 22-5 (S8-1, F8-1, E6-3)
No. 10 Duke def. No. 6 Ohio State, 14-13 (S6-3, F2-7, E6-3)