Results

EASTON, Pa. – Junior epee Julio Arias turned in a stellar 11th-place finish to lead the Drew University men's fencing team at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Championships on Saturday at Lafayette College.
 
Making his second consecutive appearance at regionals, Arias advanced through the first three rounds of pool play to reach the final round of 12. There, he won three of his 10 bouts, including a victory over the third-place finisher, Avery Townsend of Penn.
 
Arias is the first Drew men's fencer to reach the final at regionals since foilist James Weiss C'14 placed 10th in 2013 en route to qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
 
A total of 36 fencers competed in each weapon. Twelve fencers were eliminated in the opening round before six more were dropped after both the second and third rounds.
 
For the second year in a row, the Rangers had eight qualifiers at the regional championships.
 
In the opening round, Arias went 3-2, downing opponents from Johns Hopkins, Duke, and NJIT. He followed up with another 3-2 showing in the second round of 24, with victories over fencers from Stevens, Johns Hopkins, and NJIT. He then punched his ticket into the final when he went 2-3 in the third round with wins over opponents from Princeton and Penn.
 
In the final, Arias defeated Townsend 5-4, North Carolina's Henry Shugart 5-3, and NJIT's Niels Roubailo 5-1.
 
Arias was one of only three Division III competitors to reach the final in epee.
 
Junior Lucas Alfaiate and sophomore Danny Stevens were also in action in epee. Alfaiate went 2-3 in the opening round with wins over fencers from Johns Hopkins and Stevens en route to a 27th-place finish. Stevens went 1-4 with a victory over an opponent from North Carolina and placed 33rd.
 
Freshman Henri Degremont recorded Drew's second-best finish of the day, placing 19th in foil. He opened with a stellar 4-1 opening round that included wins over opponents from North Carolina, Penn State, Lafayette, and Penn. He bowed out after going 1-4 in the second round in which he topped another fencer from Penn State.
 
Junior foilist Michael DeSando was also in action, making his second-straight appearance at the NCAA Regionals. He finished 34th after going 1-4 in the opening round, notching a victory over an opponent from Penn State.
 
Drew also had three Rangers compete in saber. Junior Aiden Holmes made his second straight showing at regionals and placed 29th after going 1-3 in the opening round, which included a win over a fencer from Stevens. Also competing were juniors Daniel Magda, who went 1-4 with a victory over an NJIT fencer, and Ethan Trent, who was 0-5. Magda placed 32nd while Trent was 34th.
 
The Rangers will now hope for possible berths in the NCAA National Championships, set for March 23-26 at Duke University. Qualification to the NCAA Championships will be based 40 percent on regular-season results and 60 percent on finish at the NCAA regional. NCAA Championship qualifiers will be announced on Tuesday.