COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Stanford men's fencing team captured its fourth consecutive Western Conference crown on Sunday by finishing undefeated in the season-opening Western Invitational hosted by the Air Force Academy at Center Gym in the Cadet Gymnasium.
The women's team placed second, its lone conference loss coming against Air Force, to help the Cardinal claim the overall title.
Eight schools, including club entrant Florida, participated in the round robin competition that featured nine, five-point bouts in each weapon. The men's squad went 6-0 in saber and foil, and 5-1 in epee, while the women went 6-1 in saber, 5-2 in foil and 2-5 in epee.
Top performers for Stanford were junior Samuel Kwong in saber (14-0), freshman Julian Cheng (14-1) and sophomore Lucas Orts (10-2) in foil and senior All-American Sean Strong (11-2) in epee.
The women were led by freshman Woo Joo Kwon (13-3) in foil, freshman Hanna Lee (16-3) in epee, and graduate student Kaleigh Mentzer (14-2) and senior Carly Weber-Levine (13-5) in saber.
"I was very happy to see such a strong showing by our freshmen," said co-head coach Lisa Posthumus. "Competing at 7,400 feet wasn't easy but we elevated our game."
The Cardinal returns to action Feb. 2-3 at the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Indiana.
2019 Western Invitational
At the Air Force Academy
Team Results
Men
Stanford (6-0)
19-8 vs. Brandeis
18-9 vs. Air Force
12-2 vs. Caltech
22-5 vs. Incarnate Word
20-7 vs. UCSD
26-1 vs. Florida (club team)
Women
Stanford (5-2)
19-9 vs. Brandeis
5-12 vs. Air Force
17-3 vs. Caltech
18-9 vs. Incarnate Word
14-13 vs. UCSD
7-20 vs. Northwestern (non-conference)
24-3 vs. Florida (club team)