UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State fencing began its split-squad weekend in North Carolina at the Beguinet Classic at Duke University on Saturday, February 7. The men’s team competed at the Beguinet Classic with the women slated to compete tomorrow, Sunday February 8 at the University of North Carolina.
NO. 9 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
In the first round of competition, the Nittany Lions lost to No. 9 NYU, 17-10.
Penn State lost in a tightly contested match in men’s foil, 5-4. Spencer Burke started his day with an undefeated performance with another win from Yaroslav Muruhin.
In the men’s epee bouts, the Nittany Lions took a 6-3 loss. Zachary Suico fenced 2-1 against No. 9 NYU with another win from Tingwei Xu.
Neil Lilov, Michael Nil and Tyson Deck all earned a victory as the men’s saber team lost 6-3.
NO. 15 BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
The Nittany Lions dominated the second round of competition against No. 15 Brandeis University, earning a 20-7 win.
The men’s foil team earned an 8-1 victory over No. 15 Brandeis. Both Murhin and Julian Chin fenced undefeated in the second round of competition with a 2-win performance from Burke.
In the men’s epee round, Penn State came away with a 7-2 victory. Xu fenced undefeated with 2-1 performances from Sebastian Bonomo and Sultan Hassan to cap off the victory in men’s epee.
The men’s saber team won a close 5-4 match against No. 15 Brandeis. Deck fenced undefeated with two additional victories from Nil to win the team dual over Brandeis.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Penn State lost in a close 14-13 matchup over the University of North Carolina during round 3 of the meet.
During the men’s foil bouts, Penn State earned a 6-3 victory. Muruhin, Chin and Dusan Zeljkovic each fenced 2-1 to take the win over UNC.
UNC took a 5-4 victory in the men’s epee bouts. Xu continued a strong start to the meet with adding a 2-1 performance onto his total for the day with a win each from Hassan and Suico.
Lilov fenced 2-1 for the men’s saber team with another win from Deck in a 6-2 loss against UNC.
NO. 13 AIR FORCE
The Penn State men’s fencing team lost 15-12 over the No. 13 ranked Air Force during the fourth round of competition at Duke.
The men’s foil squad took a 5-4 loss over No. 13 Air Force. Chin fenced 2-1 with additional victories from Zeljkovic and Muruhin.
Xu fenced undefeated for the second time in the competition against the Air Force in a 5-4 victory for the men’s epee team. Suico won two additional bouts to propel Penn State to the win.
For the men’s saber team, Deck fenced 2-1 with another victory from Alessio Fukuda in a 6-3 loss.
NO. 25 JOHNS HOPKINS
During round 4 against No. 25 Johns Hopkins, the Nittany Lions won 15-12.
Murhin and Chin fenced 2-1 over Johns Hopkins with a win from Zeljkovic in a 5-4 win for the men’s foil team.
Suico and Hassan each earned 2-1 performances for the men’s epee squad in a 5-4 win for Penn State. Xu provided another victory for the Nittany Lions.
In a 5-4 victory, Lilov and Deck each fenced 2-1 with another win from Nil for the men’s saber team.
NOTRE DAME
Penn State lost in the final round of the competition at Duke 22-5 against Notre Dame.
Chin fenced 2-1 for the Nittany Lions as the men’s foil team lost 7-2 over the Fightin’ Irish.
Xu earned the only victory for Penn State in an 8-1 loss in men’s epee.
For the men’s saber team, Lilov fenced 2-1 to provide Penn State with its only two victories in a 7-2 loss.
FINAL SCORES
Men’s foil: 29-25
· Burke: 5-2
· Muruhin: 9-9
· Zeljkovic: 4-8
· Chin: 11-4
· Fukuda: 0-2
Men’s epee: 25-29
· Xu: 11-5
· Suico: 7-6
· Hassan: 5-10
· Bonomo: 2-8
Men’s saber: 21-33
· Deck: 9-9
· Lilov: 7-5
· Nil: 4-14
· Gonzalez: 0-3
· Fukuda: 1-2
NEXT UP
Penn State continues its split-squad weekend in North Carolina at the Miller Invitational at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. with the women’s team competing starting at 8:30 a.m. against Johns Hopkins University.
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.