UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s fencing team and the women’s fencing team finished the first day of the Dave Michanik Penn Invitational at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions kick off 2026 with multiple fencers going undefeated throughout day one of the competition.
NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
The Penn State men’s team secured an 18-9 victory over NJIT in the second round of the UPenn Invitational.
Foil finished with a final score of 8-1, with both Yaroslav Muruhim and Tit Nam Cheng going undefeated and two extra victories from Dusan Zeljkovic.
Epee won with a final score of 6-3. Tim Xu fenced undefeated with a 2-1 performance from Mohammed Yassin and an additional victory from Zachary Suico.
Saber lost 4-5 in a tight bout. Carlos Fernando Chacon and Michael Nil each went 2-1.
SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY
The men’s team earned a 19-8 victory with the women winning 20-7 over SHU during round three of the invitational.
Men’s foil won 5-4 in a tight match against SHU. Cheng went undefeated for the second time during day one of the competition with Muruhim and Fukuda each earning another victory.
Thea Fernandes and Eden De La Cruz each went undefeated in the women’s foil 9-0 victory. Sam Catantan earned 2 victories and Clarisse Tan put up an additional win.
Men’s epee won in a dominant 8-1 victory. Xu fenced undefeated for the second time in the competition along with an undefeated performance from Suico. Joshua Yavorovskiy won two bouts to add onto Penn State’s total.
Women’s epee lost 6-3 against SHU. Sophia Abashidze scored 2 wins with an additional win from Yuna Tamura.
In a 6-3 victory for men’s saber, Tyson Deck, Chacon and Nil each went 2-1 over SHU.
On the women’s side, Mia Novick and Eve Scott went undefeated and Amelia Baker earned 2 victories for an 8-1 win in saber.
NO. 6 / 22 DUKE
The Nittany Lions lost against Duke, with the women falling 6-21 to the No. 6 ranked team and the men 9-18 to the No. 22 ranked team.
Women’s foil lost 7-2, with Catantan earning the 2 victories for Penn State.
On the men’s side, Muruhin and Cheng provided 2 victories total in a 7-2 loss.
For women’s epee, they lost 8-1. Tamura secured the only victory for Penn State.
Men’s epee won the only set of bouts against Duke in a close 5-4 victory. Sultan Hassan fenced undefeated for the Nittany Lions as Yassin and Xu each won 2 more bouts.
Women’s saber lost to the Blue Devils, 6-3. Eunyu Kim continues a dominant season, putting up 2 victories with Stephanie Jen providing another victory against the No. 6 women’s team in the country.
The men’s saber team lost 7-2 over the No. 22 Blue Devils men’s team, with Chacon earning two victories.
NO. 1 CORNELL
The women’s team lost 19-8 against Cornell, the No. 1 ranked women’s team in the country.
Foil lost 6-3 where Catantan, Fernandes and De La Cruz all provided one victory.
In epee, the women lost 8-1, where freshman Tamura added another victory onto her total versus the No. 1 team in the country.
Saber put up a tough fight against Cornell, ultimately losing 5-4, but saw Kim go 2-1 with one win each from Jen and Scott.
HAVERFORD
Both the women and men won against Haverford during round 6. The women won 21-6 with the men finishing 18-9.
For the second time during the competition, women’s foil won 9-0 in their bouts. De La Cruz and Fernandes fenced undefeated for the second time on the day with Catantan and Tan earning the additional undefeated wins.
On the men’s side, Cheng went undefeated again in foil’s 5-4 victory. Matthew Gonzalez and Fukuda each earned another victory to get the win for the Nittany Lions.
Haverford took the victory in women’s epee, winning 5-4. Lena Gyenes finished the day going 2-1 with additional wins from Emma Holmes and Sophia Abashidze.
Yassin went undefeated in the 5-4 victory for men’s epee. Hassan and Suico added on 2 more wins to push Penn State to victory.
Men’s saber took a dominant 8-1 win over Haverford. Nil and Chacon fenced undefeated and Deck finished the day going 2-1.
Women’s saber also won 8-1. Scott and Jen each fenced undefeated, the second undefeated performance for Scott on day one. Novick provided the additional 2 victories to finish day one for Penn State.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns to the Dave Michanik Penn Invitational for day two of the competition, tomorrow, January 18 with bouts beginning at 8:30 a.m. for the Nittany Lions.
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.