The Detroit Titans men's fencing team captured its first two victories of the season Sunday afternoon at the West Point Duals held on the campus of the United States Military Academy. The Titans downed Hunter College, 20-7, in the first round followed by a 19-8 win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the second before falling to Army, 15-12, in the third round. 

Once again the team was led by the foil squad of senior Craig Budzynski (Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills), sophomore Brad Coon (Jenison, MI/Hudsonville) and freshman Mike Purdy-Sachs (Port Huron, MI/Home School) who each went 3-0 individually for a 9-0 mark against Hunter and NJIT. The squad also went a combined 8-1 in the loss to Army. 

In the sabre competition, junior Doug Sollman (Sterling Heights, MI/Stevenson) also went a perfect 9-0 on the day. 

“Overall I am happy with our weekend performance considering that we have a lot of beginners on the team that faced some very stiff competition, especially on Saturday at Vassar,” said head coach Todd Dressell. ”After getting our first dual match under our belts, I felt we had a much better effort at West Point. Our men's foil squad continued to be the backbone of our team while Doug Sollman turned in an unbeaten performance in the sabre bouts. I am also pleased with our women's team, who never quit and competed to the end led by Ashlee (McLemore) who went 10-2.” 

The team will host an alumni meet as a part of Homecoming weekend, Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9:00 a.m. All former fencers are encouraged to attend. To RSVP, please contact head coach Todd Dressell at 734-993-1725 or E-Mail at todd.dressell@udmercy.edu.