SOUTH BEND, Ind. (2/5/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's fencing squad competed against three of the top 12 nationally-ranked squads in the nation Sunday and earned a 2-3 record overall at the Northwestern Mega-Meet, held this year at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend.

The Titans fenced against ninth-ranked Duke, No. 10 Stanford and No. 12 UC-San Diego, falling to all three of the squads that are earning votes in the CollegeFencing360.com poll. The red, white and blue fell to Duke (23-4), UC-San Diego (24-3), and Stanford (25-2).

Detroit Mercy defeated teams from Cal Tech, 16-11, and Incarnate Word, 17-10, on Sunday.

Junior Algird Szumlas (foil) and sophomore Tahj Butler (epee) led the team with five bout victories on the day. Szumlas went 5-7, picking up a victory against each of the five Division I teams. Butler had a mark of 5-9, going 2-1 against both Duke and Cal Tech.

In sabre, sophomore Wiley Dressell and senior John Engelman each earned four bout wins, while junior Joshua Sexton picked up three triumphs.

In epee, senior Thomas Borden earned two victories for the Titans, including one against nationally-ranked UC-San Diego, while sophomore Christopher Morrison netted a bout win against Duke.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy is off next weekend, but returns to fencing the following weekend with several members traveling to the USA Fencing Junior Olympics in Memphis, Tenn. The Midwest Fencing Conference Championship follows from Feb. 24-25 in Columbus, Ohio.