Feb. 9, 2009

Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletics

DURHAM, N.C - The Johns Hopkins men's fencing team faced a tough slate at the Duke multi-meets on Friday, falling to No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 11 North Carolina and No. 10 Duke. The Blue Jays slip to 22-12 as they wrap up the regular season. Seniors Jimmy Einsiedler (Falmouth, ME/Waynflete School) and Ben Dorfman (Lebanon, NJ/North Hunterdon) and sophomore Max Wieder (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) paced the Blue Jays with four wins apiece on the day.

After suffering a 23-4 loss to second-ranked Notre Dame just six days earlier, Hopkins picked up two more points this time around in a 21-6 loss. Wieder led the Blue Jays with a pair of wins in the Sabre. While in the Foil, Dorfman picked up the lone Hopkins win. And in the Epee, senior Dane Schiro (Hagerstown, MD/Hagerstown), junior Harry Oppenheim (Weston, FL/University School of NSU) and sophomore Nick Krywopusk (Richboro, PA/Princeton Day School (NJ)) each picked up a win.

Against the Tar Heels, the Blue Jays picked up a 6-3 win in the Foil, but lost in the Sabre (7-2) and a tight one in the Epee (5-4). Wieder and sophomore Michael Fellows (Beverly, MA/St. John's Prep) each won a bout in the Sabre. In the Foil, it was senior David Ferguson (New York, NY/Stuyvesant) and Einsiedler picking up a pair of wins to lead the way, with Dorfman winning the clinching bout. And in the Epee, Oppenheim led the Blue Jays with a pair of wins.
 
Hopkins dropped a tough 19-8 decision to Duke, despite a 5-4 win in the Foil for the Blue Jays. In the Sabre, Fellows and Wieder once again each picked up a win for JHU. In the Foil, it was Dorfman and Einsiedler with two wins apiece to lead the way. And in the Epee, Krywopusk picked up the lone Hopkins point.

Wieder leads the Blue Jays this season with 92 wins, ranking him eighth in program history for single season wins. He now has 182 wins for his career to rank 11th all-time in the Sabre and 27th in all weapons. Einsiedler is tops in the Foil with 76 wins on the season, pushing his career total to 185 and ranking him 14th all-time in the Foil. Ferguson meanwhile has 70 wins on the season and 244 in the Foil for his career to rank him fifth all-time. In all weapons, Ferguson now has 248 wins to rank ninth in program history.

Hopkins returns to action on February 22 as it looks to defend its MACFA title. The Blue Jays have won more MACFA titles (25) then any other program in the conference's history and will look to add number 26 in two weeks. The Blue Jays are also the defending champion in the Epee, of which they have won 22 titles.