PHILADELPHIA, PA (November 3, 2019) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's fencing team opened the 2019-20 season in a big way Sunday in the Temple Open as sophomore Andy Faubert won a silver medal and freshman Zhonghan Pan took home bronze at epee.

After earning the number seven overall seed in pool play, Faubert advanced all the way to the bracket play finals with five straight victories, including wins over number three seed Jack Werrell of Johns Hopkins as well as Penn State University's Elias Cole, who was the number two overall seed.

Pan, meanwhile, was just one match away from facing off against Faubert in the epee bracket finals, advancing to the semifinal contest with four victories in bracket play in the first collegiate action of his career.

Sophomores Wolfe Crouse and Gabe Toltus also earned top-10 finishes at epee, giving the Ducks the most fencers in the top-10 in the weapon of any team in the competition.

At foil, the Ducks top finisher was sophomore Nick Beja who earned 22nd place while sophomore Vaughn Rice grabbed the top finish for Stevens at sabre with a 20th place finish.

After two separate pool-play competitions for each weapon, the fencers were then seeded individually for bracket play based on their performance in the pool play. The final placings were then determined by order of finish in bracket play, followed by pool play rankings.

Epee

• Along with placing four fencers inside the top-10, eight of the nine total fencers advanced to bracket play after finishing in the top-60.
• Faubert started the day a perfect 8-0 in pool play competition, outscoring opponents 39-17 in the eight bouts to five. He then earned victories of 15-0, 15-12, 15-5, 15-13 and 15-13 to advance to the finals before eventually falling 15-11 to Anton Chmut of Hunter College in the championship match.
• Pan was also very successful in pool play, producing a 6-2 overall record. In bracket competition, Pan grabbed four wins before falling to Chmut, the eventual champion.
• Crouse, the 2019 NCAA Championship Qualifier, finished in sixth place overall after posting a 7-1 record in pool play. He then advanced to the round of 16 in bracket play with wins over Joshua Polster of Yeshiva and Robert Hondor of New Jersey Institute of Technology.
• Toltus rounded out the top-10 fencers at epee in the competition, earning 10th place. He began the competition with an 8-0 record in pool play and advanced to the round of 32 in bracket play before falling to his teammate, Pan.
• Sophomore Tom Gana was the next-highest finisher for the Ducks, grabbing 14th place after earning five victories in pool play and advancing to the round of 32 in bracket competition.
• Andrew Bauman (47th), Jack Corridon (52nd), James Morris (57th) and Ian Blakeslee (64th) rounded out the epee field for the Ducks.

Foil

• Six of the seven foilests in the competition finished inside the top-60 to advance to bracket play.
• Beja led the way for Stevens at foil, going 7-1 in pool play and also earning a victory over Minwook Shin of Columbia to advance to the round of 32 in bracket play.
• Sophomores Noah Ehrlich and Logan Rechler finished in 28th and 29th place, respectively, and both were able to advance to the round of 32. Rechler finished with a 6-2 overall record in pool play while Ehrlich picked up three victories.
• Junior Ean Weiss also won three bouts on the day and moved onto the round of 32 for the Ducks, finishing in 32nd place overall.
• Ethan Grzeda (35th), Justin Yu (37th) and Ryan McLaughlin (61st) rounded out the foil field for Stevens.

Sabre

• All seven sabre competitors for the Ducks were able to finish inside the top 60 to advance to bracket play.
• Rice was fantastic on the day, posting a 10-1 overall record in pool play before moving on to the round of 32 in bracket competition with a win over Samuel Teichberg of Yeshiva.
• Sophomore Matthew Jacobson, junior Juan Amezquita and freshman Dylan Woodward finished in 28th, 29th and 30th place overall for Stevens. In pool play, Jacobson finished 6-5, Amezquita went 7-4 and Woodward produced an 8-3 record as all three fencers were able to advance to the round of 32.
• Sophomore Pablo Amezquita picked up six victories in pool play on the day and finished in 39th place overall.
• Eric Sang (48th) and Chris Kurtz (59th) rounded out the sabre field for the Ducks.

Next Up

• The Ducks will return to action in the Vassar Invitational next Sunday, Nov. 10 at 9:00 a.m.
• Stevens will face off against Army, Drew, Haverford, Hunter Incarnate Word, Sacred Heart, Vassar and Yeshiva in the competition.

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