SOUTH BEND, Ind. (2/1/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's fencing teams each competed Sunday at the Northwestern Mega-Meet, which was held not in Evanston, but at the University of Notre Dame. The Titans went head-to-head with some of the top teams in the nation in the meet.

The Titan men's team fenced against six ranked teams, including No. 2-ranked Notre Dame and four squads in the top 10. Detroit dropped all eight duals, but fell by just 15-12 against Cal Tech and earned five triumphs against the Fighting Irish.

The men's sabre squad led the way with 18 victories on the day, nine of them coming from junior Austin Carlisle. Allen Gray followed with eight victories, while Chuck Neubecker earned the other for the weapon. The squad recorded seven of the 12 bout wins against Cal Tech, with Carlisle and Gray each tallying perfect 3-0 records in the sabre.

Freshman Algird Szumlas was another highlight for the Titans as he went 2-1 against Notre Dame, North Carolina and UC-San Diego. He finished the day with nine bout wins overall (9-12 record) to lead the men's foil. Classmate Josh Blackburn picked up four victories for Detroit in the foil.

In the epee, junior Aaron Dittel was the leader for Detroit, earning nine victories and going 2-1 against Duke and 3-0 against Cal Tech. He finished the day with a 9-15 overall to lead the Titans in the weapon.

The Detroit women's team went up against five of the top 16 ranked fencing squads in the country during competition. Detroit went winless against the eight teams that it fenced during Sunday's action.

Jordyn Dunlap was the bright spot for the women in the foil, earning five bout wins, including two against Cal Tech. Destiny Kacir notched a victory for the Titans in the foil. Erica Tessmer and Emily Rapp each recorded three triumphs for Detroit in the sabre, with Nicole Fitch also fencing in the weapon for the Titans.

The Detroit squads return competitively on Saturday, fencing locally down the road at Wayne State University in Detroit in the WSU Duals. It'll be the closest meet of the season for the Titans, which don't have a home meet this season.

Men's Fencing Results
Detroit vs. #9 Duke -- L, 25-2
Detroit vs. #14 UC-San Diego -- L, 22-5
Detroit vs. #2 Notre Dame -- L, 22-5
Detroit vs. #10 Stanford -- L, 26-1
Detroit vs. #8 Princeton -- L, 26-1
Detroit vs. Air Force -- L, 21-6
Detroit vs. #16 North Carolina -- L, 21-6
Detroit vs. Cal Tech -- L, 15-12

Women's Fencing Results
Detroit vs. #13 Stanford -- L, 27-0
Detroit vs. #16 UC-San Diego -- L, 25-2
Detroit vs. Air Force -- L, 26-1
Detroit vs. #12 Duke -- L, 26-1
Detroit vs. #14 North Carolina -- L, 26-1
Detroit vs. Farleigh Dickinson -- L, 24-3
Detroit vs. #10 Temple -- L, 27-0
Detroit vs. Cal Tech -- L, 23-4