COLUMBUS, Ohio (2/24/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's fencing team competed at the 2020 Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC) Championship over the weekend from Ohio State University in Columbus. The Titans fenced in the individual portion of the event on Saturday before competing in the team portion on Sunday.

As a team, Detroit Mercy finished in 15th place as a women's fencing squad and had three individuals place in the top-30 in their respective weapons for the red, white and blue.

Individual Competition (Saturday, Feb. 22)
Sophomore foilist Manal Shaito finished in a tie-for-14th overall for the Titans to lead the squad after her impressive showing in pool play. Shaito had the second-best pool round of any fencer, going 6-0 with an indicator of +24 (30 touches scored, 6 touches received). Shaito won her first two bouts in the direct elimination bracket, defeating Chicago's Meggie Su, 15-2, before edging Michigan's Molly Cavanaugh, 15-14. She fell in the round of 16 to No. 3-seeded Alyssa Chen of Northwestern. Shaito had a mark of 8-1 overall on the day.

Senior Danielle Spencer made it two fencers in the top-25 in women's foil with Spencer placing a career-best 25th for the Titans. Spencer also did well in pools, finishing with a mark of 5-1 and only dropping a 5-3 decision to Northwestern's Celia Crompton. She had an indicator of +8 (28 touches scored, 20 touches received) and was seeded 13th after pool competition. After topping Wisconsin's Joyce Riphagan, 15-5, in her first DE bout, she fell to Northwestern's Sofie Simontov in the round of 32. She had a record of 6-2 overall.

Sophomore Justine Hickey led a trio of women's sabre fencers in the individual portion, placing 24th for the Titans. Hickey went 4-1 in pool play (+5 indicator) and won her first DE by a 15-8 margin over Wisconsin's Louisa Ellis before falling 15-5 to Ohio State's Evelin Bustamante. Hickey finished 5-2 overall on Saturday.

Also in sabre, senior Savannah Lee placed 36th for the Titans, finishing 3-3 overall (3-2 in pool). Freshman Savannah Sloan placed 50th in her first conference meet individually, recording a 1-5 mark.

Team Competition (Sunday, Feb. 23)
The Titans finished in 15th overall as a team (285 points) with the women's foil team placing 10th overall and women's sabre earning 14th for the Titans. The Titan sabre squad, seeded 14th, fell to No. 3 seed Chicago, 5-1, with Lee earning the lone bout win. Shaito earned a bout victory in foil, but the 10th-seeded Titans fell 5-1 to No. 7 seed Lawrence.

Up Next
Individual competitors will compete for the Titans at the 2020 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, which is host by Detroit Mercy on Saturday, March 7 from Calihan Hall. The Titans also host the 2020 NCAA Fencing Championships, held from March 19-22 at the TCF Center in downtown Detroit. For more information, visit detroittitans.com/2020-ncaa-fencing-championships.