Blue Devils Garner Three Medals at December NAC

Friday, December 2

Richmond, Va.

All Day

Duke University

US Fencing Association North American Cup

Blue Devils Garner Three Medals at December NAC

12/5/2016 3:14:00 PM | Fencing

Complete Results

By: Duke Sports Information

RICHMOND, Va. –The Duke fencing team brought three medals back to Durham following a strong performance at this weekend's December North American Cup (NAC), hosted by the United States Fencing Association in Richmond, Va.

Former Blue Devil and current volunteer assistant coach Leslie Marx and current saber coach Jacek Huchwajda hit the strips hard Friday in their respective events and both came away with gold. Marx competed in the Vet-50 Women's Epee as the No. 7 seed, finishing pool play with a 5-0 mark, taking down each opponent on the way to first-place after receiving a bye in the table of 64. Huchwajda had similar success in Vet-50 Men's Saber, going 4-2 in pools and won five straight to secure the top medal.

"We are so pleased with the performances of all of our fencers this weekend,” said head coach Alex Beguinet. “The epeeists did very well, especially Dakota [Nollner]. He set a goal of re-earning his A rating (which had dropped to a B this year) and earned a medal in addition to re-earning his A ranking. We thoroughly enjoyed his fencing this weekend. It was truly the best fencing we have seen from him so far in his college career! We are looking forward to him continuing at that level as we head into our NCAA meets.”

Junior Dakota Nollner also earned a spot on the Division I-A Men's Epee podium Saturday after finishing sixth overall, bringing the medal count to three for the weekend. Nollner went 5-1 in pool play, rounding off four straight wins until his streak ended in the table of 8, falling to eventual bronze medalist Dylan Bethel.

Juniors Alec Ajnsztajn and Bobak Shadpoor participated in similar events with Ajnsztajn going 5-1 in pools and Shadpoor compiling a 3-3 ledger. Ajnsztajn finished overall tied for 40th while Shadpoor completed his time in Richmond 93rd.

“All of the saberists did well, also,” Beguinet said. “Best finish was Pascual [Di Tella] who was knocked out just before the final round, landing in ninth place.”

Fellow classmate Pascual Di Tella posted a top-10 finish this weekend as he finished ninth overall in Division I Men's Saber. Di Tella went 5-1 for pools, earned a bye in the table of 128, secured two wins and ended in the table of 16.

Freshmen Agoston Walter and Ben Stone also competed in men's saber and finished 35th and 65th, respectively. Walter looked to return after an impressive sixth place finish at the November NAC and went 4-1 in pool play in Richmond, while Stone secured a 3-3 mark in pools.

Rookie Lindsay Sapienza entered her second NAC as the No. 15 seed and finished the weekend 14th, falling to eventual silver medalist Dagmara Wozniak after recording a 4-2 ledger in pool play.

Freshmen Aidan McGinnis posted a 4-2 record in pool play in Division I Men's Epee, while fellow classmate Kendyl Bree went 0-5 in Division I Women's Epee on Sunday.

“The fencers who were at this NAC each learned they have something to work on over the next few weeks before we come back ready to travel on January,” Beguinet said. “This event was a good opportunity for those self-evaluations."

A complete list of results from this weekend can be found below. Select Blue Devils will compete in the final North American Cup Friday, Jan. 6-9 in Columbus, Ohio.

Vet-50 Women's Epee (37 Entries)
1. Leslie Marx

Vet-50 Men's Saber (25 Entries)
1. Jacek Huchwajda

Division I Men's Epee (246 Entries)
109. Aidan McGinnis

Division I-A Men's Epee (146 Entries)
6. Dakota Nollner
T40. Alec Ajnsztajn
93. Bobak Shadpoor

Division I Women's Saber (84 Entries)
14. Lindsay Sapienza

Division I Women's Epee (134 Entries)
127. Kendyl Bree

Division I Men's Saber (99 Entries)
9. Pascual Di Tella
35. Agoston Walter
65. Ben Stone

#GoDuke