DETROIT (12/11/2016) -- Sophomore foilist
Algird Szumlas cruised to a title Sunday afternoon and the University of Detroit Mercy men's fencing team earned four medals overall at the annual Istvan Danosi Open on the campus of nearby Wayne State University.
Szumlas earned a goal medal in the foil, freshman
Wiley Dressell reached the finals in the sabre and captured the silver, while senior captain
Austin Carlisle (sabre) and senior
Aaron Dittel (epee) each picked up bronze medals for the Titans.
"Really, really happy and proud of Wiley and Algird," Detroit Mercy fencing head coach
Todd Dressell said. "Algird, just really dominated the competition. The newcomers all did really well. They are pretty much where I expected them to be. I'm happy with the day overall."
It's the second-straight year that Detroit Mercy has earned four medals with Szumlas winning his second-straight Danosi Open men's foil title. It was the fourth-straight medal for Dittel and third-consecutive for Carlisle, who are each two-time champions at the event in their weapons.
Detroit Mercy men's fencers have earned 11 medals over the past three years at the Danosi Open.
Titan Medalists
Szumlas breezed through the competition, going 30-1 in touches during pool play and winning by 15-5 margins or better in each direct elimination bout. In the men's foil final, Szumlas won 15-2 over Brendan Johnson of Wayne State.
Wiley Dressell, competing in his first collegiate competition, placed second in the 10-member men's sabre field. He went 4-0 in pool play to earn the No. 1 seed and won his first two direct elimination bouts by 15-4 and 15-7 margins. He went against Wayne State All-American Ziad Elsissy in the championship bout, falling 15-6.
"What I'm probably happiest with was the gold medal bout for Wiley, who really made Ziad fence,"
Todd Dressell said. "The touches (Ziad) was getting, were difficult touches and the things we have been working on are starting to come to fruition."
Carlisle picked up third in the sabre, medaling again, after falling to Elsissy in the semifinals, 15-5. A two-time Danosi Open champion in the sabre, Carlisle went 3-1 in pool play with his only defeat to Elsissy.
Dittel medaled for the fourth-straight year, earning bronze in the epee. Another two-time champion, Dittel went 4-1 in pool play and earned the No. 5 seed heading into the direct elimination bracket. He topped teammate
Tahj Butler in the quarterfinals, 15-11, and then feel to eventual champion, Henry Kisthardt of Wayne State in the semifinals, 15-7.
Newcomers, Veterans Round Out Competition
Freshman
Tahj Butler and sophomore
Josh Blackburn just missed out on medaling for the Titans, with each placing fifth. Butler earned a 4-1 record in pool play (+10 indicator). He won his first direct elimination bout 15-7 before falling to his teammate, Dittel, in the quarterfinals.
Blackburn had a perfect 5-0 mark in pool play, earning the No. 3 seed for the direct elimination bracket. After winning one DE bout, he fell in a back-and-forth quarterfinal, 15-14, to finish fifth in the foil. Also in the foil, newcomers
Ethan Powers and
Christopher Morrison each won pool play bouts and earned 11th and 15th place, respectively.
In the epee,
Josef Provido picked up two pool-play wins, while
Thomas Borden added another bout victory for Detroit Mercy. Provido finished 11th overall, while Borden placed 14th in the epee.
Two other newcomers made their first appearances in the sabre as
Josh Sexton and
John Engelman placed eighth and ninth in the weapon. The duo faced each other in the opening round of the direct elimination with Sexton earning a 15-14 triumph over his teammate.
