EVANSTON, Ill. - In its biggest meet of the season, the Duke fencing team will compete in a total of 21 bouts this Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5, at the Northwestern Duals.

The No. 8 Duke men (7-3) will face two top-five opponents in No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Ohio State and two others - Wayne State and Stanford - who received top-10 votes in the first USFCA Poll. The No. 10 Duke women (8-1), meanwhile, will continue their hot start against a gauntlet of teams that includes No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Northwestern and No. 6 Ohio State.

All three of the Blue Devil men's losses have come against top-10 opponents, and Duke will look to snap that streak early this weekend as their first two bouts on Saturday are against Notre Dame and Stanford. Led by the senior epee duo of Jonathan Parker and Tristan Jones, the Blue Devils have amassed 20 points in six of their seven wins. Parker and Jones have combined for a 41-15 record this season and have the epees off to an 8-2 start.

The Duke women suffered their only loss last weekend against No. 9 Penn in a narrow 15-12 final. The women's saber squad - led by two-time NCAA Champion Becca Ward - boasts a 9-0 record on the year. Ward has yet to lose a match, sporting a 21-0 record on the year, while sabermates Sean Cadley and Kodia Baye-Cigna have combined to lose only six bouts all year.

Fencing begins at 8 a.m. each day with the women's round continuing until after lunch. The men get started at 1:30 p.m. and fence until late evening. The complete schedule for both teams is listed below.

Saturday, Feb. 4
Duke Women
8 a.m. - Stanford
9 a.m. - Notre Dame
10 a.m. - Wayne State
11 a.m. - Cal Tech
12:30 p.m. - Ohio State
1:30 p.m. - San Diego
2:30 p.m. - Fairleigh Dickinson

Duke Men
2:30 p.m. - Notre Dame
3:30 p.m. - Ohio State
4:30 p.m. - Wayne State
5:30 p.m. - Stanford
6:30 p.m. - San Diego

Sunday, Feb. 5
Duke Women
8 a.m. - Lawrence
9 a.m. - Detroit
10 a.m. - Cleveland State
11 a.m. - Northwestern
12:30 p.m. - Stevens Tech

Duke Men
12:30 p.m. - Detroit
1:30 p.m. - Cleveland State
2:30 p.m. - Cal Tech
3:30 p.m. - Lawrence

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