Istvan Danosi/Michigan Open results in .doc
Across town at Wayne State University, the UDM men’s and women’s fencing squads competed at the Istvan Danosi/Michigan Open, where four Titan fencers earned podium finishes, led by sophomore
Michael Purdy-Sachs (Port Huron, MI/Home School), who claimed first in the men’s foil.
Purdy-Sachs’ finish was an improvement on his second-place finish at the same event in 2008. Three other fencers for Detroit tied for third place. Senior
Doug Sollman (Sterling Hts., MI/Stevenson) tied for third in the men’s sabre for the second consecutive season, senior
Ashlee McLemore (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) tied for third in the women’s sabre which she won at the event last year, and current Titans assistant coach
Craig Budzynski competed for Detroit and placed third in the men’s foil competition.
Purdy-Sachs and Budzynski each earned “A09” ratings for their efforts. Fencer ratings are classified from “A” through “E,” with “A” being the highest rating and corresponding with place finish at a specific tournament, followed by a two-digit rating representing the year in which the rating was earned.
A trio of newcomers saw competition for the first time in their careers in the men’s epee event. Junior
Tim Nelson (Riverview, MI/Gabriel Richard) led the way for Detroit with a ninth-place finish, freshman
Martin Tomaj (Farmington Hill, MI/Farmington) took 11th and freshman
Clint Mikek (St. Louis, MI/St. Louis) was 12th.
Also competing in his first ever fencing tournament, freshman
Jared Sivec (Macomb, MI/Dakota) placed 14th in the event’s largest field, the men’s foil, behind fellow Titans Purdy-Sachs and Budzynski. And in the men’s sabre field, senior
Dan Bingham (St. Clair Shores, MI/Fraser) fenced his way to an 11th-place finish while junior
Tom Lorenzo (Avon, OH/St. Ignatius) took 13th.
Senior
Ashley Colbert (Washington, MI/Romeo) bettered her ninth-place finish from last year and finished fifth on Saturday in the women’s foil. She was followed by sophomore
Megan McMahon (Macomb, MI/Dakota) in 10th and sophomore
Brittany Cook (Burton, MI/Owosso), who improved to 12th-place after taking 13th in 2008.
Sophomore
Samantha LaFrance (Macomb, MI/Dakota) captured a fifth-place finish in the women’s sabre after not competing at Istvan Danosi a year ago, and rookie fencer
Olivia Furnas (Macomb, MI/Dakota) finished 15th, seeing the first action of her career.
Three Titans will be in action again tomorrow as Purdy-Saches, Budzynski and junior
Brad Coon (Jenison, MI/Hudsonville) will travel to Pittsburgh, PA to compete in the USFA North American “C” Cup, a non-NCAA event.