MADISON, N.J. — For the second weekend in a row, the Drew University fencing teams used the home field advantage of Simon Forum to register impressive victories on Sunday.
          
For the men's team, the home environs saw the team finish the day with a 10-3 record. The day got off to a rocky start with a 26-1 defeat at the hands of Princeton University. The Rangers regrouped and reeled off six straight victories against Denison University (26-1), the United States Military Academy (16-11), Clemson University (24-3), Stevens Institute (16-11) and University of Florida (27-0). After the lunch break, the team dropped a second match to Princeton (24-3) and lost a close 14-13 match to Stevens with the Rangers' "B" squads, but finished the day with impressive wins against Florida (27-0) Yeshiva University (23-4), and Denison (22-5).

With the men's team's win over Stevens, Head Coach Vincent Paragano earned his 400th career victory at Drew.

The Rangers were led by saberists Michael Parkhurst (11-1) and Jake KurtzFreilich (13-3); foilists Aidan Montalbine (12-0), DJ Gulbin-Murphy (11-1) and Morgan Mundahl (11-1); and epee fencers Daniel Stevens (7-0), Will Nop (8-0), and Joe Storey (7-1). For Storey, his daily win total put him over 100 victories for his collegiate career.

"We are all so very happy that Joe was able to hit the century mark in wins," said Paragano. "He has been a great team member since he arrived in the Forest."

The men's team now boasts a season record of 20-5.  

"We are getting better every week," added Paragano. "That is the goal. Work harder each week and improve as we go through the season."

Meanwhile, the women's fencing team joined their counterparts on the winning side of the ledger, going 5-3 on the day. After an opening-round 24-3 loss to Princeton, the Rangers posted wins against Division I Fairleigh Dickinson (19-7), Yeshiva (22-5), Clemson (20-7), and the Army (21-6). The team finished the day with an 18-9 loss at the hands of Stevens and a very close 14-13 loss to Division I Wagner College.

The wins put the women's team above the .500 mark for the first time this season at 11-10.

"It has taken us a while to find our footing, but we are getting closer to where we want to be skill-wise," said Paragano. "From this point on in the season, we will look for steady growth."

Caira Blake (12-0) and Sophia McGee (12-6) were tops in epee, Maggie Kistner led in saber (7-3) and Assata Mutakabbir (7-5) was the leader in foil.

Both teams will be in action at the Vassar Invitational on Sunday against a wide range of opponents, including Division I programs Cornell University, Sacred Heart University, and Lafayette College.