2010 NCAA Midwest Fencing Regional Results

The University of Detroit Mercy men sent five fencers to Evanston, IL, for the 2010 NCAA Midwest Fencing Regional at Northwestern University on Sunday, where sophomore Michael Purdy-Sachs (Port Huron, MI/Home School) led the Titans with an eighth-place finish in the foil. 

Purdy-Sachs began the day in pool play, where he posted a 2-4 mark. Once entering the direct elimination round, Purdy-Sachs' only victory came by a score of 15-13 over Steve Kubik of Notre Dame, and was relegated to the seventh-place bout after being on the short end of a 15-14 decision against Liran Gross of Cleveland State. In his final bout of the competition, Purdy-Sachs was topped, 15-11, in the seventh-place bout. 

“If Michael had beaten Liran (Gross of Cleveland State), he'd be in a much better situation for receiving an at-large bid,” said Titans head coach Todd Dressell. “He was really just one point away from sitting in a very strong position to compete at the NCAA Championships. Now we just have to remain hopeful and see what the committee decides.” 

Also fencing in the foil field, junior Brad Coon (Jenison, MI/Hudsonville) suffered a razor-thin 15-14 setback in the 11th-place bout to finish the day in 12th. Coon rebounded from a 0-6 mark in pool competition to win by a score of 15-14 in his second direct elimination bout of the day. 

Senior Doug Sollman (Sterling Hts., MI/Stevenson) and junior Tom Lorenzo (Avon, OH/St. Ignatius) took the strip in the sabre competition. Both Titans began their day in the sabre play-in pool, advancing in the top two spots after Lorenzo posted a 4-1 record and Sollman went 3-2. 

Sollman and Lorenzo earned 11th- and 12th-place finishes, respectively, after posting identical 2-4 records in pool play. The teammates would eventually face-off in the 11th-place match, where Sollman came out on top, posting 15-9 victory over Lorenzo. 

Junior Tim Nelson (Riverview, MI/Gabriel Richard), wrapping up his rookie season of fencing, represented Detroit in the epee. Nelson was unable to notch a victory on the day, but was within two touches in four of his six bouts in pool play. 

“Tim had a great day,” said Dressell. “The end results don't look great, but he fenced some fabulous bouts against great competition in this tournament. This was only his first year, and he's going to come back strong next season and do some very good things. 

“I'm very happy with what we did on both the men's and women's sides this weekend,” added Dressell. “We've got to wait and see whether or not Michael and (senior) Ashlee McLemore (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) will be continuing on, but everyone came out ready to compete and fenced their hearts out this weekend.” 

The NCAA Championships selections will be announced Tuesday, and the competition will take place March 25-28 in Cambridge, MA.