Fencers had strong performances during the Northwestern Duals

Feb. 5, 2016

2016 Northwestern Dual results

U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. --The Air Force fencers had strong performances during the Northwestern Duals at the Notre Dame Castellan Family Fencing Center on Jan. 30-31.

Overall, the Air Force women finished 4-8, and the men were 4-7. With only one team win each on Saturday; Air Force came out strong on Sunday, with the women picking up three victories against Detroit (26-1), Cleveland State (21-6), and Fairleigh Dickenson (17-10). The women defeated Lawrence University (21-6) on Saturday. The Falcon men defeated Detroit (19-8), Lawrence University (17-10), and North Carolina (14-13). The men claimed a victory on Saturday against Wayne State (25-2). Collectively, the Falcons were 9-15 in the Northwestern Duals.

The Falcons' weekend was highlighted by the women's foil squad, as the biggest winner with an 8-4 (.667) record against all opponents, earning wins against nationally ranked teams, #2 Notre Dame (5-4), #3 Princeton (5-4), and #5 Northwestern (5-4). In epee, the women were (3-9), and (4-8) in saber.

The men's highlights included, men's saber with a 6-5 (.545) record against all opponents, while in foil, the squad was 4-7, and the epee squad was 5-6. Against some of the nation's top teams, the foilists were (9-0), (5-4), (6-3), and (6-3) against Wayne State, Cleveland State, North Carolina, and Detroit, respectively. In epee, Air Force was 8-1 versus Wayne State, 7-2 vs Princeton, 5-4 vs Duke, 6-3 vs Lawrence, and 7-2 against Detroit. The sabers also had some top finishes against Northwestern (5-4), Cleveland State (7-2), North Carolina (5-4), Lawrence (8-1), and Detroit (6-3).

Individual highpoints included, freshman Cameron Sullivan, who finished the weekend with a 14-13 epee record, and junior Ryan Andrieux with a 16-14 record. Seniors Ryan Redhead (9-9) and Matthew Bergstedt (17-11) both finished with impressive individual records. All four fencers finished at or above the .500 mark. In foil, freshman Nicholas Pollack finished with and individual record of 13-14. Freshmen Morgan Geneste, in foil, finished with a 14-15 record, while Kainoa Chun-Moy finished 6-8.

Impressive records were accomplished by senior Mary McElwee, who finished the weekend with a 23-3 individual foil record, and junior Alyssa Hofilena, who earned a 23-11 saber record. Both fencers finished well above the .500 mark, as McElwee was .884, and Hofilena was .676 for the weekend. Sophomore Nicole Quattrociocchi earned a 13-17 individual record, while junior Waverly Hock finished 12-20 in foil.

Coming up: Junior Olympics: Sullivan will compete in the Junior Olympics in Cleveland, Ohio, on Feb. 12-15.

Western Region: Air Force will host the 2016 NCAA Western Region Championships on March 5 in the Academy's east gym. Air Force has 17 qualifiers for the NCAA regionals.

Air Force NCAA West Region Championship qualifiers:

Women

Ranked #1 Mary McElwee -- foil

Ranked #4 Alyssa Hofilena -- saber

Ranked #4 Nicole Quattrociocchi - foil

Ranked #5 Waverly Hock -- foil

Lauren Sides (saber)

Logan Long (epee)

Lydia Kim (saber)

Men

Ranked #3 Ryan Redhead - saber

Ranked #4 Matt Bergstedt - saber