The Duke fencing team made a strong statement on the opening day of the ACC Championships, with junior saberist Kunling Tong earning a silver medal in the women’s individual competition and the men’s team fighting to a hard-earned third-place finish inside North Carolina’s Eddie Smith Field House. On the second day, the Blue Devils continued to shine, with épéeist Allen Marakov securing a bronze medal in the men’s individual competition. The women’s team finished a close second in the team event, narrowly falling to Notre Dame for the ACC Championship.
Day 1: Men’s team and women’s individual competition
Kunling Tong took center stage for Duke in the women’s individual saber event, turning in the best ACC Championships performance of her career. After finishing eighth in 2023 and 11th in 2024, she came into this year’s tournament with something to prove — and she delivered. Tong cruised through pool play with seven victories, earning the No. 2 seed, then dispatched teammate Victoria Gorman, 15-9, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she showed her composure under pressure, outlasting Notre Dame’s Lola Possick, 15-11, before falling to the Fighting Irish’s Magda Skarbonkiewicz, 15-9, in the gold-medal bout.
“Going in [Kunling] had a very good regular season indicator, so we were going in confident that she would have a good performance and she came through,” head coach Omar Elgeziry said. “She knows what it takes to put up results like this, so I think she rose to the occasion.”
Beyond Tong’s silver-medal finish, Duke’s saber squad put its depth on display. Three Blue Devils reached the quarterfinals, with Gorman and Natalie Olsen — who entered as the No. 4 seed — both making deep runs before being stopped by eventual champion Skarbonkiewicz.
Duke saw mixed results in the foil and épée events, though several fencers made strong pushes. Charlotte Koenig and Sophia Shen advanced out of pool play in foil before bowing out in the quarterfinals, while senior épée captain Rachel Kowalsky fought her way into the knockout rounds before falling to eventual champion Eszter Muhari of Notre Dame.
The men’s team’s resilience was on full display throughout a grueling first day of competition. Duke found itself on the wrong side of three straight heartbreakers, falling to North Carolina, Notre Dame and Stanford — all by the narrowest of margins, 14-13. Each match came down to the wire, with the Blue Devils pushing some of the country’s top teams to the limit but coming up just short.
Despite the early setbacks, Duke rebounded in its final match of the day, grinding out a 15-12 victory over No. 12 Boston College. On the day, Dayaal Singh, William Holz, and Samir Travers led the way, each tallying seven individual victories for Duke keeping them in contention for the championship. In foil, Joseph Glasson and Owen Li turned in steady performances, while épéeists Allen Marakov and Peyton Young provided key contributions to the team’s narrow victories
Day 2: Men’s individual and women’s team competition
Duke men’s best individual result came from Marakov, who earned a bronze medal with a composed and tactical performance. Known for his patience on the strip, Marakov showcased a clean and elegant fencing style, often waiting for the perfect opening before striking. His approach was on full display in a dominant preliminary bout against North Carolina’s Boris Muga, where he executed a flawless 5-0 rout in just 1:18.
“Allen qualified twice last year and was a NCAA finalist,” said Coach Elgeziry. “We walked into the competition with the mindset that this was just the preparation for regionals and we would like to get a good result. We will restructure our plan and continue to work on small things that will add up to bigger things.”
Meanwhile, freshman saberist Lev Ermakov delivered an impressive showing in his first ACC Championships. He finished just outside the podium in fourth place and demonstrated poise and tenacity, pushing some of the conference’s top competitors to their limits. His strong debut bodes well for Duke’s saber for the future.
Duke’s foil squad also turned in a tightly contested effort, with three Blue Devils finishing side by side in the standings. Joseph Glasson placed ninth, followed closely by Laith Elkousy and Owen Li, underscoring the team’s consistency in the event.
In the team event, Duke’s women made a strong impression at the ACC Championships, finishing with a 3-1 record and narrowly falling to Notre Dame in the championship match. The Blue Devils displayed depth and resilience throughout the competition, with standout victories over Boston College, North Carolina and Stanford.
In its opening match against Boston College, Duke showcased its strength in saber, dominating 8-1, and followed up with a 6-3 victory in foil. Despite a 5-4 loss in épée, the Blue Devils secured an 18-9 overall win. Against the Tar Heels, Duke’s balanced attack was evident, winning 7-2 in both saber and foil, while edging out a close 5-4 victory in épée for a 19-8 team win. Against Stanford, Duke won 5-4 in saber, lost 4-5 in foil and dominated épée with an 8-1 victory to finish with a 17-10 win.
Despite their strong run, the Blue Devils fell short in the final, losing 19-8 to Notre Dame. Struggling in both saber and épée, where they secured only three wins between the two events, the Blue Devils faced a tough challenge against Notre Dame’s dominance. A bright spot for Duke came in foil, where it managed a 5-4 victory.
Several individual performances stood out in team competition. Kowalsky led the épée squad with a solid 5-4 record, while Katie Lin posted a strong 6-5. In foil, Koenig and Koo each posted an impressive 9-3 record, helping propel the team in that event. Meanwhile, in saber, Sky Miller’s 8-4 performance and Tong’s 5-4 record were key to the Blue Devils’ success.
“We were going in hoping to win championships in the team events,” Elgeziry said. “Unfortunately, we fell short in both but I believe that we fought hard, we had a lot of good results and we lost as well, but that is part of the process you have to lose sometimes to grow and win in the future.”
Looking ahead, Duke now turns its focus to NCAA Regionals, aiming to build on their strong performance at the ACC Championships.
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