CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Competing in the Miller Invitational at the University of North Carolina, the No. 4 MIT men's fencing defeated Air Force (20-7) but fell to the host Tar Heels (16-11), No. 10 (D1) Duke (14-13), No. 5 (D1) Penn State (17-10), and No. 2 Johns Hopkins (19-8) on Sunday. Senior
Patrick Xinyi Liu (Brookline, Mass.) powered the epee team with an 11-4 record while sophomore
Andy Zhang (Suwanee, Ga.) amassed a 10-5 ledger for the foil squad. Junior
Surya Sakhamuri (Sharon, Mass.) was the top performer for the sabre contingent with a 6-5 total.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- UNC 16, No. 4 MIT 11
- No. 10 (D1) Duke 14, No. 4 MIT 13
- No. 4 MIT 20, Air Force 7
- No. 5 (D1) Penn State 17, No. 4 MIT 10
- No. 2 Johns Hopkins 19, No. 4 MIT 8
- MIT Record: 13-12 Overall
HOW IT HAPPENED – EPEE:
- The epee team finished with a 19-26 record as it defeated Air Force (7-2) and was narrowly edged out by UNC (5-4) and Johns Hopkins (5-4)
- Liu won all three bouts versus Air Force and Johns Hopkins, had 2-1 outings against UNC and Duke, and picked up a victory versus Penn State to help him generate an 11-4 record.
- First-year Alec Zhang (Saratoga, Calif.) went 4-8 as he swept his opponents from Air Force and added a win against Johns Hopkins.
- First-year Rishi Shiv (Houston, Texas) notched a victory against UNC, Duke, and Air Force, ending the day with a 3-9 record.
- Senior Wilson Zhu (Diamond Bar, Calif.) had a 1-5 ledger, highlighted by a win versus UNC.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FOIL:
- The foil team generated a total of 24-21, featuring victories over Duke (7-2), Air Force (6-3), and Penn State (5-4).
- Andy Zhang won all three bouts versus Duke, produced 2-1 performances against UNC, Air Force, and Penn State, and earned a victory versus Johns Hopkins to help him compile a 10-5 record.
- Junior Henry Zhang (Scarsdale, N.Y.) finished with an 8-7 ledger as he swept his opponents from Duke, went 2-1 against Air Force, and picked up a win versus UNC, Penn State, and Johns Hopkins.
- Junior Niles Liu (Bedford, Mass.) had a 4-4 record as he posted a 2-1 mark against Penn State and notched wins versus UNC and Duke.
- Senior Richard Lin (Melville, N.Y.) went 2-5, including a 2-1 outing against Air Force.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SABRE:
- The sabre team compiled a ledger of 19-26 as it defeated Air Force (7-2) and had a 4-5 score versus Penn State.
- Sakhamuri went 2-1 against Duke, defeated both of his opponents from Air Force, and registered a victory against UNC and Penn State.
- First-year Zachary Tong's (Marietta, Ga.) 7-7 total featured a 3-0 outing versus Air Force, a 2-1 mark against Penn State, and a win versus UNC and Johns Hopkins.
- First-year Eric Wang (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) generated a 6-9 record as he had a 2-1 performance against Air Force and notched a win versus UNC, Duke, Penn State, and Johns Hopkins.
- Senior Alex Harris (New York, N.Y.) went 0-5 on the day.
UP NEXT:
- MIT kicks off the postseason on Sunday, February 23 when it travels to Mount Holyoke College for the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championship.
STAY CONNECTED:
