Fencing Heads To Philadelphia For Temple Open

11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Fencing

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke fencing team will send 29 competitors to the 29th Annual Temple Open this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16, in McGonigle Hall, including 10 members of the women's team and 19 from the men's squad.

The 2008 Temple Open will draw over 600 competitors from 32 schools, which marks the tournament's largest-ever field. The women's foil, epee and saber competitions will kick off the tournament on Saturday, while the men will follow on Sunday. Competition for both days will begin at 9 a.m.

Senior saber Jessica Hancock, junior epee Nicole Bloom and sophomore foil Allison Putterman are among Duke's top returners on the women's squad entering the tournament, as they each reached 40 wins and had winning records in 2008. Hancock returns for her second year as team captain after posting a 48-30 mark as a junior, while Bloom reached 40 wins for the first time in her career as a sophomore and brings a 74-63 career record into the weekend. Putterman, meanwhile, had an outstanding freshman campaign and led the foil squad with a 41-20 record. She also advanced to the NCAA Championships after finishing seventh at the Atlantic/South Regional and followed with a 19th-place finish at the national competition.

The Duke women's team will also send two fencers who topped the 30-win plateau last season, including foil Alexandra Stein and saber Margot Mausner. Stein finished with 34 wins as a junior to record her second straight 30-win season, while Mausner chalked up 31 victories while competing in every meet as a freshman. Also traveling will be 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Becca Ward and teammate Ashley Donald, who earned a top-40 finish at the North American Cup on Nov. 7-10. Their classmate Dana Rosen will also make her Duke debut in the foil bracket.

Senior saber Peter Truszkowski, sophomore foil Dorian Cohen and sophomore epee Marc Shepsman highlight the men's team and are the top returning winners for their respective weapons. Truszkowski, a two-time All-America who also serves as the men's captain, is set for big senior year after going 58-11 as a junior on the way to an eighth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Cohen, meanwhile, was named All-America as a freshman after taking sixth at the NCAA Championship and finishing 50-11 during the regular season. Shepsman saw plenty of action as a freshman as well and racked up 21 wins, which was the second-best total among Duke's epee fencers last season.

The men's team will bring along another 50-match winner from last year in senior saber Locky Stewart, who went 50-19 in 2008. Stewart had winning marks at every event as a junior, including a 19-8 performance at Northwestern and a 9-3 outing at Temple in the season-opening tournament. Freshman foil Dan Cohen will also make the trip after taking third-place out of 164 entries in the North American Cup on Nov. 7-10. Cohen is one of seven freshmen on the men's team who will compete.

Duke Fencing

Entries At 2008 Temple Open

Duke Women's Fencing

Allison Putterman Foil

Dana Rosen Foil

Noel Shaskan Foil

Alexandra Stein Foil

Nicole Bloom Epee

Kaitlin Atkinson Saber

Ashley Donald Saber

Jessica Hancock Saber

Margot Mausner Saber