Men’s fencing come away with two players that earn medals in the Temple Open

The Stevens men’s fencing team opened the 2019-20 season Sunday in the Temple Open.

After two separate pool-play competitions, the fencers were then seeded individually for bracket play based on their performance in the pool play. The final placings were then determined by order of finish in bracket play.

There are three weapons to fencing: épée, saber, and foil. As a result, there are three sections of play. Épée players play other épée players, and so forth.

For the men in épée, earning the number seven overall seed in pool play, sophomore Andy Faubert advanced all the way to the bracket play finals with five straight victories, including wins over the number three overall seed and the number two overall seed.

Faubert started the day a perfect 8-0 in pool play competition. He then earned victories of 15-0, 15-12, 15-5, 15-13, and 15-13 to advance to the finals before eventually falling in the championship match. A fantastic performance from Faubert, who brought home the silver medal for the Ducks.

As for freshman Zhonghan Pan, also using épée, he was just one match away from facing off against Faubert in the bracket finals. He advanced to the semifinal contest with four victories in bracket play in the first collegiate action of his career. Pan was also very successful in pool play, producing a 6-2 overall record.

Faubert won the silver medal and Pan took home bronze. An absolutely amazing performance from both fencers as they both outperformed over 85 competitors in épée.

Sophomores Wolfe Crouse and Gabe Toltus, both épée, also earned top-10 finishes, giving the Ducks the most fencers in the top-10 of one weapon of any team in the competition.

Six of the seven foilests in the competition finished inside the top-60 to advance to bracket play. Sophomore Nick Beja led the way for Stevens at foil, going 7-1 in pool play and getting to the round of 32 in the foil competition.

Sophomores Noah Ehrlich and Logan Rechler finished in 28th and 29th place, respectively, and both were able to advance to the round of 32. Rechler finished with a 6-2 overall record in pool play, while Ehrlich picked up three victories.

Furthermore, all seven saber competitors for the Ducks were able to finish inside the top-60 to advance to bracket play.

Sophomore Vaughn Rice was fantastic on the day, posting a 10-1 overall record in pool play before moving on to the round of 32 in saber competition.

As sabers, sophomore Matthew Jacobson, junior Juan Amezquita, and freshman Dylan Woodward finished in 28th, 29th and 30th place overall for Stevens, respectively. In pool play, Jacobson finished 6-5, Amezquita went 7-4, and Woodward produced an 8-3 record as all three fencers were able to advance to the round of 32.

This was their first contest of the season and they have another one next week in the Vassar Invitational this Sunday at 9 a.m.