SOUTH BEND, Ind. (3/9/2019) -- Three University of Detroit Mercy women's fencers wrapped up the season for the Titan women's fencing team as the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, hosted by the University of Notre Dame from the Castellan Family Fencer Center on Saturday.
Freshman foilist
Manal Shaito (Dallas, Texas / Plano Academy) placed 14th in foil for Detroit Mercy, while junior
Savannah Lee (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) and freshman
Justine Hickey (Warren, Mich. / Mott) placed 13th and 14th, respectively, for the Titans in sabre. All three Titans were making their first career NCAA regional championship appearances.
Shaito, making her first NCAA regional appearance in her first season of collegiate fencing, was seeded 15th entering the day and went 2-13 during pool play against the top fencers from around the Midwest. She won a 5-1 bout over Cleveland State's Shelbie Seeberg and a 5-0 match-up with Wayne State's Brooklyn Miller. She had a -38 indicator on the day with 28 touches scored against 66 touches received. Shaito placed 14th out of 16 women's foilists.
Lee was seeded 12th in sabre, while Hickey, in her first season of collegiate fencing, was the 14th-seeded fencer in sabre entering Saturday's competition. Lee earned one bout victory during the regional championship. Hickey had 13 touches scored, while Lee picked up 11 touches scored for Detroit Mercy during the day as the pair finished 13th and 14th, respectively.
Shaito finished her first season with a dual meet record of 53-25, while Lee had 27 victories and Hickey added 15 bout wins in her first season as a Titan. The Detroit Mercy women's fencing squad had three individuals at the regional finals for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
