UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s fencing teams had its first day of competition of the season at the Nikki Franke Invitational at Temple University in Philadelphia, on Sunday, October 26.
The second day of the Nikki Franke Invitational began at 8 a.m. with men’s epee, which featured senior fencer Vasil Ivakimov. Matthew Gonzales and Alessio Fukuda represented the men’s foil team and Carlos Fernando Chacon and Tyson Deck fenced saber.
In the first round of epee pools, Ivakimov advanced past the first round of pool competition, gathering his first three victories of the season. Ivakimov finished his first meet of the season with a 15th place overall finish after advancing to the field of 16 in men’s epee.
For men’s foil, Fukuda earned his first three victories in the foil pools and ended the meet in 40th place overall. Gonzales earned one victory in the first round of foil pools and finished the day in 45th place.
Deck, a freshman saber fencer making his collegiate debut, collected his first three collegiate victories in the first round of saber pools, finishing the meet in 28th place. Senior saberist Chacon did not advance past the first round of pool play, finishing the meet in 66th place overall.
Penn State fencing will be back in action for the Elite Invitational at Ohio State starting on November 8-9.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the Penn State Fencing team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateFen) and X/Instagram (@pennstatefen). Live updates during competitions regarding meet day information and other important notes will be posted on X.