After two weeks filled with momentum swings, Duke will try to make history this weekend.
The Blue Devils have the opportunity to win their first conference title, as Duke will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday and Sunday to compete in the ACC Fencing Championships.
“Everybody wants to win [the ACC,]” head coach Alex Beguinet said after Duke’s Annual Meet Feb. 7. “Well, I want to win it, too.”
Duke, however, will need to put forth an immense effort if it hopes to take home the crown, as the men’s and women’s squads will fence against Boston College, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish will pose the biggest threat to Duke's shot at history—Notre Dame's women’s and men’s squads are ranked No. 2 and No. 4 in the nation, respectively.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic but Notre Dame has a very strong squad,” Beguinet said. “It is going to be very tough. They are expected to win but I believe we’ll do everything we can not to let that happen.”
The Blue Devils have been far from pushovers this season. Duke's No. 9 men’s squad routed John's Hopkins 17-10 and North Carolina 20-7 in the Annual Meet, which marked the team's regular-season finale.
Freshman Dean Ischiropoulos, who leads all Duke freshmen with a 31-17 season ledger, said that the meet was a great baseline test against the cross-town rival Tar Heels, who he'll see again this weekend.
“Fencing UNC today gave us a good idea of how we’ll do against them, what we need to improve and what worked,” Ischiropoulos said.
The women’s squad, consisting of seven rookies, did not have its best performance at the Annual Meet. The Blue Devils fell 20-7 to No. 7 Northwestern and 16-11 to the Tar Heels.
After the contest, Beguinet said he was worried about the Blue Devil women “going downhill" but added that he would talk to the staff and captains to see what they could do to motivate the fencers.
“I think that ACC will be better for us,” senior captain Sarah Collins said following the meet. “We’re a young team, we have a lot of talent and the girls are very excited. Working together will be key to come back.”
Prior to Duke's trip to Chapel Hill for the crucial ACC weekend, the Blue Devils sent a group of talented rookies to Virginia to pick up a little confidence before the conference tournament.
Five freshmen were invited to participate in the 2015 Junior Olympic Fencing in Richmond, Va., Feb. 13-16, and four finished among the 50-best in their respective divisions.
In the junior men’s epée class, Ischiropoulos captured 19th place after falling 15-11 to Virginia's Jason Xu in the Table of 32, joining Dakota Nollner—who finished 43rd—in the top 50. Jan Maceczek, who has registered a 28-9 record this season, took 57th in the junior men’s foil.
Two Blue Devils participated in the junior women’s saber contest Feb. 8. Haley Fisher, who has posted 45 victories this season, had another solid showing in her rookie campaign and took 10th overall. Jennifer Ling, with a 44-win season record, finished No. 40.
But the good news did not stop with the rookies.
Collins, who holds a 188-71 career record, was one of the Blue Devils honored with the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award. The award is a $5,000 scholarship offered to student-athletes with outstanding academic and sporting performances for their graduate education.
Two weeks after the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, the Blue Devils fencers will participate in the NCAA Mid/South Atlantic Regional in Durham March 7.
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