Blue Devil Women Sweep Saturday

Saturday, February 8

Durham, N.C.

Duke University

The Beguinet Classic

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devil Women Sweep Saturday

2/8/2025 4:39:00 PM | Fencing

Final Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke fencing program honored its seniors and turned in an undefeated home event Saturday as the Blue Devil women went 5-0 at the Beguinet Classic inside the Wilson Recreation Center.

With the five victories Saturday, the women extended their unbeaten streak to 15, having last lost to No. 2 Ohio State January 18 at the Philadelphia Invitational. Duke downed five ranked foes Saturday, two in Division I with No. 13 Penn State and No. 11 Temple.

Duke's women competed Saturday at home while the Blue Devil men will take part in Sunday's Miller Invitational at North Carolina. Seniors Cam Evans, Rachel Kowalsky, Allen Marakov, Kavya Menke, Ryan Pelosky and Xander Wilcox were celebrated Saturday as part of Duke's Senior Day ceremony.

HOW THE BEGUINET CLASSIC HAPPENED

The No. 6 Blue Devil women downed No. 4 Johns Hopkins (DIII) 21-6 and No. 13 Penn State 15-12 during the morning session. After a break to honor its seniors, Duke topped No. 3 Brandeis (DIII) 21-6, No. 1 MIT (DIII) 17-10 and No. 11 Temple 15-12.
Duke's three weapons finished with very similar records Saturday as the saber squad went a combined 26-19, the epee group 30-15 and the foilists 33-12.
The saber set improved to 23-4 this season and has not lost a bout since a 5-4 setback to No. 13 Penn State on January 19 at the Philadelphia Invitational.
The Blue Devils showed the depth of their roster Saturday as 13 registered four or more wins and nine tallied six or more.
Leading the way in wins was junior Skylar Knight, who earned nine in foil against just one setback. Sophomore epeeists Vanessa Lin and Katie Lin each tallied eight triumphs. Junior Rachel Koo (foil) also joined the eight-win club.
Full results can be found below.

QUOTE

"Overall, this was an amazing event. This was our second meet going undefeated. I couldn't be any prouder of our fencers.

"From a meet organization standpoint, we wanted to meet the Alex and Elizabeth Beguinet standard, which is super, super high. I don't know if we'll ever be able to meet that standard, but I received a lot of compliments from other coaches saying the space looked great, the competition was organized and everything ran on time. We did a very good job. I want to thank everyone from the Duke staff who put in the work arranging the event.

"Our eyes are now shifting to ACCs, already for the women. Going undefeated in two meets is remarkable and should put the team high in the rankings. Right now, it's time to lock in, focus and go see what we can do at ACCs.

"Honoring our seniors today was very special. We started that tradition last year. This year, it felt even more special because we included our senior parents. It was also more emotional for me because I have more connection with these seniors after working with them for three years. I'm very proud of them and what they have accomplished. It felt so good to honor them in their last home meet." – Head coach Omar Elgeziry

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

#GoDuke

No. 6 Duke Women | 5-0
No. 6 Duke def. No. 4 Johns Hopkins (DIII) 21-6 (S6-3, F8-1, E7-2)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 13 Penn State 15-12 (S5-4, F4-5, E6-3)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 3 Brandeis (DIII) 21-6 (S5-4, F7-2, E9-0)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 1 MIT (DIII) 17-10 (S5-4, F8-1, E4-5)
No. 6 Duke def. No. 11 Temple 15-12 (S5-4, F6-3, E4-5)

WOMEN'S EPEE
Monica Balakrishnan 0-4
Eiry Du 7-2
Rachel Kowalsky 7-3
Katie Lin 8-3
Vanessa Lin 8-3

WOMEN'S FOIL
Anusha Bansal 0-1
Charlotte Koenig 5-2
Rachel Koo 8-1
Skylar Knight 9-1
Zizi Newhard 4-5
Sophia Shen 7-2

WOMEN'S SABER
Victoria Gorman 6-4
Kavya Menke 6-1
Sky Miller 4-3
Natalie Olsen 5-3
Hava Stone 3-3
Kunling Tong 0-2
April Zuo 2-3