DETROIT (12/3/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's fencing squad earned four medals across two weapons at the season-opening Istvan Danosi Open, held annually on the campus of Wayne State University. The Titans earned two medals in both sabre and foil.
Titan junior
Wiley Dressell (Royal Oak, Mich.) and brother
Wyatt Dressell (Royal Oak, Mich.) both reached the title match in sabre, with older brother Wiley earning his first Danosi Open title. Wyatt earned the silver medal in second place. In men's foil, seniors
Josh Blackburn (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and
Algird Szumlas (Glendora, Calif.) also placed in the top-three, with Blackburn picking up silver after advancing to the title bout and Szumlas receiving a bronze.
For
Wiley Dressell, it was his third-straight medal in as many years (all first or second-place finishes) and Szumlas also earned his fourth medal in four appearances at the Danosi Open.
Detroit Mercy had three of the top six in sabre with senior
Joshua Sexton (Utica, Mich.) finishing sixth. Blackburn and Szumlas were top-three in foil with newcomer Jaydon Alojipan finishing 12th in his first action as a Titan. A quartet of Detroit Mercy fencers competed in epee with Bryce Sturgis (16th) and
Peter Swanney (17th) leading the way.
The Titan men's fencers have earned 18 medals over the past five seasons at the Danosi Open.
Check out a few of the interviews and the championship bout in men's sabre from yesterday's competition:
Up Next
As a team, the next fencing meet for the Titans is their home Detroit Mercy Invitational on Sunday, Jan. 13. The first bouts are set to get underway at 9 a.m. from Calihan Hall.
