Duke Women Finish Runner-Up at ACC Fencing Championships

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke fencing team concluded day one of the ACC Fencing Championships that featured men's individual and women's team competition inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The second-seeded and eighth-ranked Duke women headlined Saturday's action with a runner-up finish. The Blue Devils faced top-seeded Notre Dame in the title round of team competition, as the familiar foes entered the match with a 3-0 record. The No. 2 Fighting Irish came away with the victory, securing the team title in an 18-9 triumph over the Blue Devils.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Duke men opened the Saturday slate with individual competition. The sophomore trio of Justin Glozman (sabre), Isaac Lief (epee) and Giulio Pech (epee) paced the Blue Devil efforts with strong outings in pool play to secure their respective spots in the quarterfinals.
Glozman won all six of his sabre bouts during the round robin and entered the knockout stage as the top overall seed. The Villanova, Pennsylvania, native contested a highly competitive matchup in the round of eight, but was ultimately upended by eventual runner-up Elden Wood of North Carolina in an achingly close 15-14 decision.
In the epee, Lief and Pech advanced out of pool play as the No. 4 and No. 7 seeds, respectively, but dropped quarterfinal decisions.
The women's team competition saw Duke impress in its first three matches, powering past Stanford (18-9) and Boston College (19-8), before taking down arch rival North Carolina with a 15-12 win to set up the decisive match.
The Blue Devil foil – paced by juniors Sophia Shen (9-0), Charlotte Koenig (7-0) and senior Rachel Koo (7-2) – spearheaded the charge through the first three matches, outscoring foes 24-3 over that span.
In the championship match, freshman Meera Desai (epee) got the Blue Devils on the board first with a win over the Irish's Zoe Kim in the opening bout. Notre Dame would reel off 14 of the next 16 points to gain complete control of the contest before going on to secure the 18-9 decision.

Duke Men: Individual Results (record during pool play)

Epee: Ethan Dennis (1-4), Isaac Lief (4-1), Giulio Pech (3-2), Kozmo Rhyu (2-3)
- Lief – No. 4 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
- Pech – No. 7 seed, defeated in quarterfinal
Foil: Laith Elkousy (2-3), Aidan Lee (1-3)
Sabre: Justin Glozman (6-0), William Holz (2-3), Samir Travers (2-3)
- Glozman – No. 1 seed, defeated in quarterfinal

Duke Women: Team Results

No. 5 Duke (2) def. No 11 Stanford (4), 18-9 (E: 7-2, Foil: 7-2, Sabre: 4-5)
No. 5 Duke (2) def. Boston College (5), 19-8 (E: 5-4, Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 5-4)
No. 5 Duke (2) def. No. 15 North Carolina (3), 15-12 (E: 1-8, F: 8-1, S: 6-3)
No. 1 Notre Dame (1) def. No. 5 Duke (2), 18-9 (E: 4-5, F: 7-2, S: 7-2)

QUOTE:
"I'm proud of how we competed today. The results may not fully reflect our level, but the fight and intensity were there. We came here to win a championship, but University of Notre Dame was stronger this time. We'll learn from it, and come back better. Go Duke!" – Duke head coach Omar Elgeziry

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Duke Women Finish Runner-Up at ACC Fencing Championships

Players Mentioned

Ethan Dennis

Meera Desai

Laith Elkousy

Justin Glozman

William Holz

Charlotte Koenig

Rachel Koo

Aidan Lee

Isaac Lief

Giulio Pech

Kozmo Rhyu

Sophia Shen

Samir Travers

Duke information

Duke Women Finish Runner-Up at ACC Fencing Championships

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Dennis

Meera Desai

Laith Elkousy

Justin Glozman

William Holz

Charlotte Koenig

Rachel Koo

Aidan Lee

Isaac Lief

Giulio Pech

Kozmo Rhyu

Sophia Shen

Samir Travers

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Duke information