Full Results

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (1/11/2016) -- A pair of University of Detroit Mercy men's fencers opened 2016 by competing in the USA Fencing January North American Cup, held this past weekend in St. Louis. Freshman Algird Szumlas (Glendora, Calif. / Glendora) competed in the foil, while junior Aaron Dittel (Berkley, Mich. / Berkley) fenced in the epee.

Dittel placed 227th out of 286 fencers that competed in the epee, which included two bout victories in pool competition. He earned a 5-4 victory over Nicholas Hanahan from Notre Dame, as well as topping Penn State's Samuel Freiman, 5-3.

The victory over Freiman was a big one as the Penn State freshman would go on to finish 16th on the day, reaching the round of 16. Dittel finished pool play with a 2-4 record and 19 touches scored against 27 touches received. He missed out on qualifying for the direct elimination bracket by just 12 spots.

Szumlas fenced on Friday, placing in a tie for 173rd out of 196 fencers. Szumlas finished 1-5 in pool play. He recorded a -13 indicator (15 touches scored against 28 touches received).

Detroit returns to action on Jan. 16, fencing in the Notre Dame DiCicco Duals in South Bend, Ind.