The Detroit Titans men's fencing team had six student-athletes compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifier held this weekend on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus. Senior Craig Budzynski (Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills) and junior Doug Sollman (Sterling Heights, MI/Stevenson) turned in solid performances, earning at-large bid considerations for the NCAA Championships held later this month.
To earn an at-large NCAA Championship bid, a selection committee evaluates an individual's regular season performance, which accounts for approximately 40%, coupled with their performance at the Regional Qualifier which accounts for about 60%, and then selects two fencers from each weapon class. The at-large selections will be released later next week.
Budzynski, who was hampered by a hand injury, opened the foil competition going 4-3 in pool play. In the next round, he recorded wins over Cleveland State's Liran Gross (15-8) and Mike Ramlow from Wayne State (15-11), to finish in seventh place over all.
Despite suffering from the flu, freshman Mike Purdy-Sachs (Port Huron, MI/Home School) went 3-4 in foil pool play and recorded elimination round wins over Wayne State's Tim Mulligan (15-10) along with a tough match against teammate Brad Coon (Jenison, MI/Hudsonville) (15-13) to finish 11th overall. Coon, who also battled a nagging injury, competed hard and finished 14th overall.
Sollman finished 10th overall in the sabre event with two tough wins over teammates Tom Lorenzo (Avon, OH/St. Ignatius) (15-10) and Michael Danelia (Moscow, Russia/West Bloomfield) (15-9). Lorenzo went 2-4 in pool play and defeated Jason Heiss of Cleveland State (15-12) to finish 11th overall while Danelia placed 14th.
“Our foil team fenced with great courage and spirit,“ said head coach Todd DresselI. “Despite injuries and the flu, Craig, Brad and Mike faced adversity head on, competed very hard and performed well. I am also very happy with our sabre team, who turned in a solid effort against some tough competition. I also feel very good about Doug and Craig receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships from the committee.”
If Budzynski and Sollman receive at large bids, they will travel State College, PA for the NCAA Championships held at Penn State on Wed.-Sat., March 18-21.
