Duke Concludes Solid Weekend at Elite Invitational

Saturday, November 14

Philadelphia, Pa.

8:30 a.m.

Duke University

Elite Invitational

Charlotte Koenig wins a touch during foil bout

Photo by: Duke Athletics

11/15/2026 4:54:00 PM | Fencing

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Duke fencing turned in a solid showing at the Elite Invitational this weekend, with the men's and women's teams going 6-2 and 6-3, respectively, across two days of top-notch competition.

On the men's side, Duke's performance was highlighted by five ranked wins, including a pair of top-five victories over No. 4 Penn (15-12) and No. 5 Princeton (19-8). The Blue Devil women opened the event with a signature defeat of No. 3 Harvard (14-13) and later took down No. 7 Yale (15-12), ultimately finishing the weekend with five total ranked wins.

HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S FENCING

Duke got off to a strong start Saturday, winning four of its five meets. In addition to the victory against the seventh-ranked Crimson, day one of the Elite Invitational also saw the Blue Devils post wins over No. 10 Ohio State (15-12), Denison (23-4) and No. 9 Yale (16-11). The Duke men wrapped up the weekend with triumphs over No. 5 Princeton and No. 4 Penn.
The weekend efforts for the men were led by the saber group, who posted a 45-27 overall mark during the two-day event. Both foil and sabre registered 41 victories.
Individually, the Duke men had five fencers post double-digit wins. Junior Joseph Glasson posted a team-high 16 wins in foil, followed by classmates sabre Lev Ermakov (12), epee Giulio Pech (11) and foilist Owen Li (11). Rookie sabre Hayden Cheong and junior epee Peyton Young also eclipsed double-figure wins with 10 apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S FENCING

On the women's side, the Blue Devils opened the weekend going 5-1 during Saturday's competition slate. Duke's day-one showing was kickstarted with the one-point win over No. 3 Harvard and was followed by triumphs over No. 14 Temple (19-8), Denison (23-4), No. 11 Ohio State (19-8) and No. 7 Yale. After falling in their first two Sunday duels, the Blue Devils capped the day on a positive note with a win over 10th-ranked Penn.
The Duke women's foil group delivered the stoutest performance of the weekend, with the group of fencers combining to go 53-26 in their respective bouts. Women's sabre was next with 43 wins and epee had 41.
Two foilists in sophomore Abigail Lau and senior Charlotte Koenig paced the individual efforts with Lau going 14-1 while Koenig went 14-5. A pair of freshmen in sabre Nicole Lin and epee Alisa Yang and senior sabre Victoria Gorman also reached double-figure wins with 11 each.

MEN'S RESULTS:

No. 8 Duke vs. No. 7 Harvard | W, 18-9 (E: 4-5; F: 8-1; S: 6-3)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 10 Ohio State | W, 15-12 (E: 4-5; F: 4-5; S: 7-2)
No. 8 Duke vs. Denison | W, 23-4 (E: 7-2; F: 7-2; S: 9-0)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 9 Yale | W, 16-11 (E: 7-1; F: 6-3; S: 3-6)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 2 Columbia | L, 8-19 (E: 2-7; F: 4-5; S: 2-7)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 13 Penn State | L, 13-14 (E: 3-6; F: 4-5; S: 6-3)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 5 Princeton | W, 19-8 (E: 8-1; F: 5-4; S:6-3)
No. 8 Duke vs. No. 4 Penn | W, 15-12 (E: 6-3; F: 3-6; S: 6-3)

WOMEN'S RESULTS:

No. 5 Duke vs. No. 3 Harvard | W, 14-13 (E: 2-7; F: 6-3; S: 6-3)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 14 Temple | W, 19-8 (E: 5-4; F: 9-0; S: 5-4)
No. 5 Duke vs. Denison | W, 23-4 (E: 7-2; F: 8-1; S: 8-1)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 11 Ohio State | W, 19-8 (E: 8-1; F: 5-4; S: 6-3)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 7 Yale | W, 15-12 (E: 7-2; F: 5-4; S: 3-6)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 2 Columbia | L, 11-16 (E: 2-7; F: 6-3; S: 3-6)
No. 5 Duke vs. Penn State | L, 10-17 (E: 2-7; F: 6-3; S: 2-7)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 4 Princeton | L, 13-14 (E: 5-4; F: 4-5; S: 4-5)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 10 Penn | W, 15-12 (E: 3-6; F: 6-3; S: 6-3)

QUOTE:
"It was a long weekend, but a great showing for our team. Apart from Penn, the host, we fenced more matches than any other team in the field. With the pressure and intensity of those matches, our fencers fought with grit and perseverance. We came out on top in most of them, and the ones we lost, we will learn from. This was a great and intense experience for our fencers and a good test to understand where we stand, and we stand in a very good place. I'm excited to see how we build from here, and I'm proud of our team. Go Duke!" – head coach Omar Elgeziry

UP NEXT:
Duke returns to the strip after the holiday season, unwrapping the New Year with a return trip to Philadelphia for the Dave Micahnik Penn Invitational, Jan. 16-17.

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