Blue Devil Epees Shine at Duke Home Meet

Saturday, February 11

Durham, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One at Duke Home Meet (Men)

Jones in 10th Place After Day One of Men's NCAAs

Blue Devil Epees Shine at Duke Home Meet

2/11/2012 9:30:00 PM | Fencing

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - Led by an undefeated 5-0 day from the epees, the No. 8 Duke men's fencing team posted a 4-1 record at the annual Duke Home Meet on Saturday in Card Gym. The Blue Devils defeated Air Force 20-7, North Carolina 15-12, Brandeis 15-12 and Johns Hopkins 18-9, but fell 17-10 to top-ranked Penn State.

Duke's epees emerged as the best of the day as the four-man rotation of Tristan Jones, Nathaniel DeLucia, Dylan Nollner and Jonathan Parker combined to defeat all five opponents, including the epees from Penn State. Those four captured the Duke Home Meet's Epee Cup, which goes to the top epee squad at the dual meet.

Jones, a two-time NCAA qualifier, was nothing short of dominant and left the strip with a 14-1 record on the day. He is only loss came against Penn State's Anthony Green, but he rebounded to win his next two bouts against the Nittany Lions and ended his day with 11 consecutive wins. The sophomore Nollner and senior DeLucia split time and combined for a 12-3 record with six victories apiece, including a combined 3-0 effort against Penn State. Parker, a 2011 All-American, also contributed an 8-7 record.

Despite the upset from the epees, the Blue Devils (16-6) fell 17-10 to Penn State in their only loss of the day. The difference came in the saber bouts where the Nittany Lions came away with eight victories to make up the seven-point win.

The Duke sabers came away with four wins on the day, defeating Air Force, North Carolina Brandeis and Johns Hopkins. Leading that squad were Anthony Lin, who went 8-4, and Timothy Evans, who finished 8-5. Freshman Colin Colter also stepped in and won six of his seven bouts.

The Blue Devils foils went 1-4 with their lone win coming against Brandeis, 7-2. Sophomore Chris Sullivan led the squad with an 8-7 record.

The Duke women will fence on day two of the Duke Home Meet on Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. They have already broken the school's single-season wins record for the women's program with 18 victories and will look to reach the 20-victory mark tomorrow.

Duke Men's Fencing Results
Duke Home Meet
February 11, 2012
Durham, N.C. (Card Gym)

TEAM RESULTS

Duke 20, Air Force 7
Foil: Air Force V, 5-4
Epee: Duke V, 8-1
Saber: Duke V, 8-1

Penn State 17, Duke 10
Foil: Penn State V, 6-3
Epee: Duke V, 6-3
Saber: Penn State V, 8-1

Duke 15, North Carolina 12
Foil: North Carolina V, 5-4
Epee: Duke V, 5-4
Saber: Duke V, 6-3

Duke 15, Brandeis 12
Foil: Brandeis V, 7-2
Epee: Duke V, 8-1
Saber: Duke V, 5-4

Duke 18, Johns Hopkins 9
Foil: Johns Hopkins V, 5-4
Epee: Duke V, 7-2
Saber: Duke V, 7-2

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Men's Foil (1-4)
Rod Shayesteh (4-11)
Chris Sullivan (8-7)
Samuel Schack (4-11)

Men's Epee (5-0)
Dylan Nollner (6-2)
Jonathan Parker (8-7)
Tristan Jones (14-1)
Nathaniel DeLucia (6-1)

Men's Saber (4-1)
Timothy Evans (8-5)
Anthony Lin (8-4)
Eugene Chung (4-8)
Colin Colter (6-1)
Justin Goldsmith (1-0)