The 1994-95 season got off to a rough start for the men's and women's fencing teams.
Both squads were disappointed with their performances at the season-opening North Carolina meet in Chapel Hill on Saturday.
Duke's men went 3-4 overall in the meet. The Blue Devils knocked off Haverford, Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. But they were unable to conquer rival UNC, the host team.
"As a team, I thought we could have done a little bit better, but overall, we held our own," sophomore Jeremy Kahn said. "We ended up losing to Carolina, which we should have beaten."
The dual meet against the Tar Heels was particularly frustrating for the epee team, which lost three of its nine bouts by 5-4 margins. Overall, Kahn led the epee squad with his 14-7 record.
"As an epee team, we could have done better," Kahn said.
Despite a 9-12 showing from senior captain Anthony Crupi, the sabers were Saturday's highlight for the Blue Devils. Junior Ian Keller was the spark behind the saber team's four victories, sporting a 14-7 bout record.
"For the team, it wasn't a great day, but it wasn't a total disaster," Keller said. "Obviously things could have been better, but I thought things went okay.
"Personally, I was happy because I've been out of [fencing] for a long time, and I won twice as many as I lost."
The Blue Devils' women's team, which is comprised of virtually all freshman, had less success than the men did.
"It's very tough for the girls," head coach Alex Beguinet said. "They are a young team."
Freshman Jen Brockett, who fences foil, should be one of the bright spots for Duke this year. But she struggled along with the rest of her teammates this weekend.
"I don't think I did very well," Brockett said. "The transition from high school to college fencing] is kind of overwhelming because this is the first time that a lot of us are fencing against older women."
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