NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The MIT men's fencing team swept the individual titles while generating nine top 10 finishes at the season-opening The Big One Invitational hosted by Smith College on Saturday. Senior Wilson Zhu (Diamond Bar, Calif.) won his first epee title, sophomore Andy Zhang (Suwanee, Ga.) repeated as the foil champion, and first-year Zachary Tong (Marietta, Ga.) claimed the sabre crown in his intercollegiate debut. The Engineers are currently ranked No. 4 in the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association Division III Preaseason Coaches Poll.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Epee
  • Wilson Zhu went 6-0 in his pool and then defeated Bryce Ritterhaus of Brandeis (15-2), Vsevolod Plotnichenko of UMass (15-4), first-year Alec Zhang (Saratoga, Calif.), 15-10, Declan McAdoo of Sacred Heart (15-9), and Alexander North of Vassar, 15-5, in the final.
  • Alec Zhang finished seventh as he posted a 5-1 mark in his pool, defeated Brennan Robins of Sacred Heart (15-13) and Stephen Scapicchio of Sacred Heart (15-14), but lost to Wilson Zhu, 15-10, in the table of 8.
  • After winning the foil titles in 2021 and 2022, senior Patrick Xinyi Liu (Brookline, Mass.) placed 13^th in his first epee appearance at The Big One. Following a 4-1 outing in his pool, he defeated Joshua Grayson of Northeastern (15-13) and Damien Nguyen of Sacred Heart (15-14), but fell to Benjamin Fleckenstein of Sacred Heart, 15-6, in the table of 16.
  • Sophomore Max Zhu (Diamond Bar, Calif.) placed 17^th after going 6-0 in his pool and dropping a tough 15-14 loss to Bryan Ju of BU in the table of 32.
  • First-year Rishi Shiv (Houston, Texas) ranked 30^th overall. He went 3-3 in his pool, posted wins over Euan Wilkie of Rhode Island (15-5) and Ethan Hortelano of Brandeis (15-11), and then fell to Alexander North of Vassar (15-10) in the table of 32.
  • Graduate student Timmy Dang (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded a career-best finish of 37^th place. Following a 4-2 performance in his pool, he outlasted Owen Hefferman of Rhode Island (15-14) but then lost to Chenhe Jiang of BU by the same score in the table of 32.
  • In his first appearance, sophomore Nicolas Valayannopoulos (Cambridge, Mass.) placed 47^th. He went 2-4 in his pool, defeated Darren Wang of Stony Brook (14-13), and then fell to Brennan Robins of Sacred Heart (15-2) in the table of 32.
     
• Foil
  • Andy Zhang's title run included a 6-0 outing in his pool and victories over Roderick Atwood of Tufts (15-5), senior Richard Lin (Melville, N.Y.), 15-4, Gleb Syomichev of Sacred Heart (15-4), David Belluomo of Sacred Heart (15-10), and Chaissen Costello of Sacred Heart (15-5).
  • Junior Henry Zhang (Scarsdale, N.Y.) tied for third place, equaling his career-best finish. He won all six of his bouts in his pool, defeated Anthony Lam of Stony Brook (15-2), Benjamin Kelly of Northeastern (15-5), and Varun Gupta of Northeastern (15-14), but lost to Chaissen Costello of Sacred Heart (15-8) in the semifinals.
  • Junior Tony Xiao (San Ramon, Calif.) finished in eighth place. He went 5-1 in his pool, defeated Brady Traugot of Vassar (15-6) and Philip Nunnink of Wheaton (15-14), but fell to David Belluomo of Sacred Heart (15-11) in the table of 8.
  • Lin ranked 12^th overall. After a 5-1 performance in his pool, he topped Thomas Ligh of Northeastern (15-7) but lost to Andy Zhang (15-4), in the table of 16.
  • First-year Ryan Chin (Austin, Texas) captured 16^th place. He went 4-2 in his pool, defeated Isaac Powers of Tufts (15-2), Nick Mazzoni of UMass (15-5), and junior Niles Liu (Bedford, Mass.), 15-14, but fell to Gleb Syomichev of Sacred Heart (15-9) in the table of 16.
  • Niles Liu finished right behind Chin in the standings as he had a 6-0 record in his pool but was edged out by Chin (15-14) in the table of 32.
  • Sophomore Michael Samuel (Philadelphia, Pa.) rounded out the Engineers in 38^th place. After a 3-3 showing in his pool, he defeated Rohan Biju of Northeastern (15-5) but lost to Alexander Ligos of Sacred Heart (15-11) in the table of 32.
     
• Sabre
  • Tong went 6-0 in his pool and defeated Daniel Atefi of UMass (15-3), Max Hurowitz of BU (15-5), Alexander Lo of Dartmouth (15-7), Oliver Lindholm of Sacred Heart (15-10), and junior Surya Sakhamuri (Sharon, Mass.), 15-14, en route to the title.
  • Sakhamuri's runner-up finish was the best in his career. After a 6-0 outing in his pool, he topped junior Brendon Murphy (Mount Dora, Fla.), 15-8, Connor Huang of Tufts (15-0), Joy Qui of Brandeis (15-13), and first-year Eric Wang (Foothill Ranch, Calif.), 15-6, but lost to Tong, 15-14, in the final.
  • Wang tied for third place as he had a 6-0 mark in his pool, defeated Treshan Nilaweera of BU (15-1), Josh Kessler of Tufts (15-9), and Anthony Rabinkov of Brandeis (15-10), but lost to Sakhamuri, 15-6, in the semifinals.
  • Senior Alex Harris (New York, N.Y.) ranked fifth. He went 6-0 in his pool, defeated Jett Londell of Sacred Heart (15-7) and Ethan Fisk of Northeastern (15-10), but fell to Oliver Lindholm of Sacred Heart (15-14) in the table of 8.
  • Senior Henry Smith (Columbia Falls, Mont.) had a career-best finish of 28^th place. Following a 3-2 performance in his pool, he defeated Mark Yang of Northeastern (15-13) but lost to Oliver Lindholm of Sacred Heart (15-3) in the table of 32.
  • Murphy posted a career-best ranking of 30^th. He went 3-3 in his pool, defeated Joshua Sagastizado of Sacred Heart (15-6), but lost to Sakhamuri (15-8) in the table of 32. 

UP NEXT:  

• MIT returns to action on Wednesday, November 13 when it travels to Boston College for the Beanpot.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.