Video: Highlights from Danosi Open
Photos: Danosi Open Gallery
Men's Results (HTML): Foil  |  Epee  |  Sabre
Women's Results (HTML): Foil  |  Epee  |  Sabre

DETROIT (12/6/2015) -- Junior Aaron Dittel and freshman Algird Szumlas each won their respective weapons and the University of Detroit Mercy fencing program earned four medals overall on Sunday at the annual Istvan Danosi Open, held on the campus of Wayne State University.

The Detroit men's fencing team had at least one medalist in all three weapons as Dittel won the epee, Szumlas won the foil, junior Austin Carlisle placed third in the sabre and freshman Josh Blackburn earned a third-place spot in the foil. The Titan men's fencers have earned seven medals in the past two years at the Danosi Open.

"We had a pretty good day," UDM fencing head coach Todd Dressell said. "I'm pretty happy with the results. Everyone fenced about how we needed them to fence. Everyone fenced to their ability. It's a nice prelude to the meat of the season coming up in January."

Four Medalists
Szumlas, making just his second competitive appearance for the Titans, cruised to the finals in the foil. Szumlas went 6-0 in pool play with a +25 indicator (30 touches scores, 5 touches received) to earn the No. 1 seed in the weapon entering direction elimination. Szumlas won five-straight direction elimination bouts, including the championship bout, beating sixth-seeded Joerg Oxborough of Western Ontario in the finals, 15-10. He finished ahead of 32 fencers to earn the title and bolted back to campus for an Architecture critique, according to Dressell.

Dittel, seeded 10th after pool play, turned it on in direct elimination to advance to the championship. He won his first two bouts with ease before upsetting No. 2 James Medison of the University of Michigan, 15-7, in the quarterfinals. After a 15-8 win in the semifinals, Dittel cruised to the epee title with a 15-6 decision over Western Ontario's Alexander Wood.

Carlisle, who won the sabre at the Danosi Open last year, was victorious in all four pool play bouts in the sabre and received the No. 4 seed out of 29 fencers. He won his first three bouts in the direct elimination bracket before meeting top-seeded Ziad El-Sissy of Wayne State in the semifinals. Carlisle gave El-Sissy, an All-American last year, his toughest match of the day and fell by just three touches, 15-12.

In the foil, Blackburn earned the No. 4 seed after pool play, recording a 6-0 mark with a +17 indicator. He triumphed in three consecutive bouts, including a tightly-contested 15-14 win over the fifth seed Graham Shaw of Western Ontario. Blackburn then fell to the eventual champion and teammate Szumlas in the foil semifinals to earn a medal.

Men's Team Performs Well Overall
Junior Allen Grey performed well in his first Danosi Open and went 4-1, only falling to El-Sissy in pool play. He finished seventh overall in the sabre out of 28 fencers, winning his first two direct elimination bouts and then falling in the quarterfinals, 15-5, to the eventual runner-up, James Yen, of the University of Michigan. Sophomore Chuck Neubecker placed 17th in the sabre for the Titans, winning three pool play bouts.

Junior Mikael Paulik finished 14th in the foil for Detroit, going 3-2 in pool play and winning his first direction elimination bout, 15-14. Sophomore Thomas Borden was 21st in the epee, earning two victories during pool action. Senior Josef Provido placed 25th in the foil, picking winning a bout during pool play.

Fitch, Newcomers Compete for Women's Team
Four Titans competed for the Detroit women's fencing team. Nicole Fitch, making the switch to sabre this season, placed 25th in the weapon. Newcomer Erica Tessmer placed just ahead of Fitch in the sabre, winning one bout in her first Danosi Open.

Newcomers Jordyn Dunlap and Destiny Kacir both made their debuts in the foil for Detroit. Dunlap earned two bout wins during pool play and finished 13th overall.

"It was a first competiton with the women's foil with Jordyn and Destiny," Dressell said. "What I'm really happy about is that they are unsatisfied. They did everything that I asked them to do. They were both unsatisfied. They want to win. I'm very satisfied with that."

Up Next
Detroit takes a break competitively until after the holidays, returning for the North American Cup in St. Louis, Mo. from Jan. 8-11. The Titans open the dual portion of their schedule on Jan. 16, fencing at the Notre Dame Dicicco Duals in South Bend, Ind.