The men's and women's fencing teams were delayed in their trip to State College, Penn. this past weekend due to cold weather. Once they arrived at Saturday's Penn State Invitational, however, the results were lukewarm, with the men going 2-3 and the women 3-2 on the day.
The first match of the day could not have been more stacked against Duke, as its opponents, the undefeated Nittany Lions, were both the No. 1 team in the country and also the host of the match.
The men's team lost 21-6 and the women's team fell 20-7. As they would throughout the match, the Blue Devil epee teams shined, with all of the men's points coming from that sword.
The next match came against rival North Carolina, and both Duke teams came away with a victories.
"I think it's pretty much the same [as higher-profile sports rivalries]," junior epee squad member Kimberley Schafer said. "The whole rivalry is about school pride, and I don't think scholarships or revenue have a whole lot of influence on it."
Both the men's and women's teams won the epee competition against the Tar Heels en route to two 17-10 victories. Nic Testerman, Nathan Bragg, and Sean Huang led the men's epee squad, while Jaimie West, Schafer, and Dorothy Hubbard outbattled UNC for a 7-2 win in the women's epee.
The next match pitted Duke against Stanford, with the male Cardinal drubbing their Blue Devil opponents 18-9.
On the other hand, the women's team squeaked out a victory, shutting Stanford out of the epee competition, 9-0, en route to a narrow 14-13 win.
Both teams dominated Hunter College, allowing only three points between them, as the men won 25-2 and the women 26-1.
The final match of the day was a Duke loss to the University of Pennsylvania, with the men faltering 18-9, and the women losing 19-8.
The unranked Blue Devils had no trouble getting back to Durham, where they will host a home meet early next month.
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