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Photo by: Andy Mead/ACC
Tong Takes Silver as Duke Ends Opening Day at ACCs
2/22/2025 7:55:00 PM | Fencing
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Duke fencing team closed out the first day of the ACC Championships with the women's individual competition and men's team portion inside UNC's Eddie Smith Field House.
Junior saber Kunling Tong captured a silver medal to lead the individuals while the men placed tied for third as a team.
How It Happened
RESULTS
WOMEN'S EPEE
Monica Balakrishnan 1-3
Eiry Du 1-4
Rachel Kowalsky 2-3; No. 5 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
WOMEN'S FOIL
Charlotte Koenig 4-2; No. 3 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Skylar Knight 2-4
Zizi Newhard 3-3
Sophia Shen 4-3; No. 5 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
WOMEN'S SABER
Victoria Gorman 4-2; No. 7 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Natalie Olsen 4-2; No. 4 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Hava Stone 2-3
Kunling Tong 7-1; No. 2 seed, defeated in championship bout
No. 10 Duke Men | 1-3
North Carolina def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S5-4, F5-4, E4-5)
No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S4-5, F4-5, E6-3)
Stanford def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S4-5, F4-5, E6-3)
No. 10 Duke def. No. 12 Boston College 15-12 (S5-4, F5-4, E5-4)
MEN'S EPEE
Ethan Boroditsky 4-7
Allen Marakov 6-5
Giulio Pech 0-3
Peyton Young 6-5
MEN'S FOIL
Joseph Glasson 6-6
Owen Li 6-6
Dayaal Singh 7-5
MEN'S SABER
Lev Ermakov 5-5
Justin Glozman 0-2
William Holz 7-5
Samir Travers 7-5
Junior saber Kunling Tong captured a silver medal to lead the individuals while the men placed tied for third as a team.
How It Happened
- Tong finished with her highest placement at the ACC event after taking eighth in 2023 and 11th in 2024. She earned five victories in pool play to secure the No. 2 seed. Tong picked up a 15-9 victory over teammate Victoria Gorman in the quarterfinals before topping No. 6 seed Lola Possick of Notre Dame, 15-11, to advance to the final. Tong went against the Fighting Irish's Magda Skarbonkiewicz but came up short, 15-9.
- The Blue Devil saber squad had three qualify for the quarterfinals as Tong and Gorman were joined by No. 4 seed Natalie Olsen, who fell to Skarbonkiewicz in the quarterfinals.
- In the foil, sophomores Charlotte Koenig and Sophia Shen each advanced out of pool play as the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds respectively but dropped quarterfinal decisions.
- Senior Rachel Kowalsky represented Duke in the epee quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed but was upended by eventual champion Eszter Muhari of Notre Dame in the round of eight.
- In the men's team competition, Duke dropped its first three matches in achingly close 14-13 scores.
- The Blue Devil men wrapped up the team competition with a 15-12 victory versus Boston College as it took all three weapons by 5-4 decisions.
- The Duke men were led by sophomore Dayaal Singh (foil), freshman William Holz (saber) and sophomore Samir Travers (saber), who each reached the seven-win plateau.
- "The results didn't go our way today as we lost by just one bout in the matches we lost. It was a tough day for our fencers, but I see tremendous growth and resilience in this young team. With two-thirds of our starters being freshmen, they fought hard and showed great promise. This group is learning, developing and has significant potential. While today's outcome was disappointing, we're shifting our focus to preparing for regionals in two weeks Go Duke!" - Head coach Omar Elegziry
- The championships continue at 8 a.m. Sunday with the men's individual pool play. The women's team action starts at 1:30 p.m.
RESULTS
WOMEN'S EPEE
Monica Balakrishnan 1-3
Eiry Du 1-4
Rachel Kowalsky 2-3; No. 5 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
WOMEN'S FOIL
Charlotte Koenig 4-2; No. 3 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Skylar Knight 2-4
Zizi Newhard 3-3
Sophia Shen 4-3; No. 5 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
WOMEN'S SABER
Victoria Gorman 4-2; No. 7 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Natalie Olsen 4-2; No. 4 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Hava Stone 2-3
Kunling Tong 7-1; No. 2 seed, defeated in championship bout
No. 10 Duke Men | 1-3
North Carolina def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S5-4, F5-4, E4-5)
No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S4-5, F4-5, E6-3)
Stanford def. No. 10 Duke 14-13 (S4-5, F4-5, E6-3)
No. 10 Duke def. No. 12 Boston College 15-12 (S5-4, F5-4, E5-4)
MEN'S EPEE
Ethan Boroditsky 4-7
Allen Marakov 6-5
Giulio Pech 0-3
Peyton Young 6-5
MEN'S FOIL
Joseph Glasson 6-6
Owen Li 6-6
Dayaal Singh 7-5
MEN'S SABER
Lev Ermakov 5-5
Justin Glozman 0-2
William Holz 7-5
Samir Travers 7-5
Players Mentioned
Epee
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Epee
/ FencingAllen Marakov Wins Bronze in Epee
Wednesday, February 26
Kunling Tong Takes Silver in Saber
Wednesday, February 26
Beguinet Classic: Kavya Menke Interview
Monday, February 10
Beguinet Classic: Omar Elgeziry Interview
Monday, February 10
