The University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's fencing squads will head West for the weekend where on Saturday they will square off against some top competition as the Titans open up the year at the Stanford Duals.

Traditionally, the Titans have waited until December to get the season underway, but a chance to test themselves against the likes of the California Institute of Technology, San Diego and Stanford, as well as Northwestern's women's team, was too good for 11th-year head coach Todd Dressell to pass up.

“For the reason of not having our full team finalized we don't normally compete until (Istvan) Danosi (Michigan Open),” said Dressell. “But we were invited out by Stanford, which is kind of a big deal. This will be by far the longest and most complicated trip we've made in my ten years here.

“What I really like about it is that there are going to be some very good teams there, but I think they're teams that we can beat.”

Detroit will only be taking eleven fencers out to California, leaving the five newest members of the squad behind to make their debut at the Istvan Danosi at Wayne State on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Among his squad of experienced fencers, Dressell is expecting good results from senior Ashlee McLemore (Detroit, MI/Dominican) and sophomore Michael Purdy-Sachs (Port Huron, MI/Home School) especially.

“They're our most experienced fencers by far and I think they'll be able to do some good things and gain some valuable experience from the trip,” said Dressell.

McLemore, last year's women's team MVP, posted a 65-32 record last season. She took home first place at the Istvan Danosi Michigan Open and finished 13th at the Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC) Championships.

Purdy-Sachs posted a winning percentage of .720 last season (68-27), the second best among Detroit fencers, and placed 13th at the MFC Championships. In October, he competed in the prestigious Remenyik Open against a very strong field and placed sixth out of 81 entrants in the men's foil competition.

With such a small squad in tow, Dressell knows the Titans will be hard pressed to come up with victories in their dual matches, but sees a lot of positives for the team and individuals down the road.

“The (Istvan) Danosi is just teams from Michigan and it's a pretty relaxed, friendly environment,” Dressell said. “So to be out of our element and at this kind of competition this early in the season will, I think, pay off for us later.

“We're going to be seeing these teams again later this season at (the) Northwestern (Mega-Meet in January), and we'll have some insight into what we need to prepare for then, and for our individual fencers it will be very important in helping to pave the way to an NCAA at-large bid,” added Dressell.

Saturday's action at Stanford will begin at noon ET.