TEAM RESULTS

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Detroit senior Michael Purdy-Sachs led the Titans with a perfect 27-0 record and sophomore Ariel Skellett went 15-7 to lead the women's squad as both the men's and women's fencing teams were in South Bend, IN, this past weekend for the Duals at Notre Dame. 
 
Purdy-Sachs - who is 41-1 on the year - went up against some of the top competition in the country at Notre Dame and came out on top. The Titan foilist swept his three bouts over Notre Dame winning 5-1 over Enzo Castellani, taking a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Reggie Bentley and he also posted another 5-4 victory over Nickolas Kubik for the sweep.
 
Castellani and Bentley are both former NCAA Championship competitors and All-Americans. At the NCAA Championships, Castellani finished eighth in 2009 and third in 2010, while Bentley finished fifth in 2011. 
 
“Mike was in control the whole time and fenced great,” said head coach Todd Dressell. “He has really put the time and work into perfecting his technique and strengthening his tactical approach. Mike was a shining star for us and I don't think Notre Dame was ready for the intensity he brought to the strip.”
 
In the opening head-to-head match of the day, the women's team won a convincing 25-2 decision over Wisconsin. Both the epee and foil teams went 9-0, while the sabre squad went 7-2. The women's sabreists of Skellett, sophomore Eva Berndt and freshman Katie Lang, all finished well as Berndt broke even posting an 11-11 total and Lang was 10-12 overall. Skellett leads the women with a 36-20 mark on the season.
 
Throughout the day, the Detroit women were in tough competition against experienced teams, such as Northwestern, Wayne State and Notre Dame that resulted in team losses. The Titans came back falling in close bouts to Florida, 19-8, and Lawrence, 16-11, and closed out the competition with three-straight wins over Purdue (14-13), Indiana (14-13) and Cleveland State (19-8). In those last three victories, the women's sabre squad went a combined 21-6.
 
On the men's side, there were two team victories recorded. The first came over Illinois with a 16-11 score and the other was against Cleveland State by a narrow one-point margin, 14-13. The men were close as they had two one-point setback to Purdue, Florida and were also close in match-ups with Wisconsin (16-11), Lawrence (17-10) and Indiana (18-9).
 
“Despite some high expectations, our inexperience showed as we struggled,” said Dressell.  "Our men's teams showed that more work is needed as we couldn't find our point. We moved well, but were unable to find the target.”
 
Sophomore Yaroslav Ivanov, of the men's epee team,  finished with a winning total on the day with a 15-12 record. Paige Zmudczynski also had a fine outing for Detroit in women's epee leading her sword with a 10-9 mark.
 
The Titans will now head to Evanston, IL, for the Northwestern Mega-Meet. The two-day event begins on Feb. 4.