Four fencers compete at NCAAs

The fencing team sent four fencers to the NCAA Championships this past weekend at Stanford, but no one in the quartet made much noise.

Duke, as a team, scored 16 points and finished in 22nd place out of 28 teams represented, while powerhouse Penn State won its sixth straight national championship with 175 points.

The Blue Devils struggled for the most part, and out of a field of 24 in their respective weapons, only Michael Baughman finished higher than 20th. Baughman, a senior sabre, finished in 17th place. Sabre teammate Andy Mahen finished in 22nd, while foil David Bright came in 23rd place. Duke's lone woman representative, sophomore Nyasha London, finished in last.

While London struggled, winning just one bout on the weekend, it was a success for the sophomore just to be there. Last year the Duke women failed to advance anyone to the nationals. London finished 16th at the regionals two weeks ago, but received a bid to the NCAAs later in the week.

On the men's side, Mahen's placing was a bit disappointing considering that last year, as a freshman, he finished in 16th place. At this year's regionals, Mahen was the only Blue Devil to receive an automatic berth to the nationals, as he finished in a team-best seventh place.

But Mahen only managed to win five bouts over the weekend, for a winning percentage of .217. The sophomore scored 71 touches, but was hit 35 more times.

Baughman, however, competed well enough to bookend his career with another solid performance. The sabre finished 14th in nationals as a freshman, but did not return to the NCAAs again until this season. The senior won seven bouts for a winning percentage of .304.

Bright rounded out the men's team with his 23rd-place performance in the foil. Bright won three bouts in California, and dropped three places from his 21st-place finish last year.