Eastern Wayne Today

Six members of the Wayne State University women's fencing team participated in the NCAA Midwest Regional held at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. Sophomore Ludovica Mancini from Rome, Italy, led the team with a fifth-place finish in the women's foil category.

This was the first time since 2017 that Wayne State hosted the NCAA Midwest Regional. The event's outcome significantly influenced each fencer's season score, which will be finalized before Tuesday, March 12. On this date, selections for all 24 spots for each weapon will be announced by the NCAA.

The women's competition began around 9 a.m., preceding the men's events. Participating programs included Cleveland State, Denison, Lawrence, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Wayne State. Notably absent were representatives from Detroit Mercy.

In women's epee, three pools of seven competitors opened the round with Reka Galfalvy and Salma Abdrabou advancing to the second pool. Amanda Pirkowski from Notre Dame claimed first place among 21 participants.

The women's foil category had fewer than 18 competitors; hence a single large pool determined rankings through round-robin action. Mancini secured fifth place while ND's Josephina Conway emerged as overall winner.

For women's sabre, Jadeyn Williams of Notre Dame took first place. Wayne State did not have any participants in this category.

Wayne State fencers await their fate in the upcoming NCAA selection release on March 12. Successful candidates will compete at the NCAA Championships in Columbus on March 21-22 at Ohio State's French Field House.

Each region nationally receives specific bids per weapon per gender along with two national at-large bids per weapon per gender. The breakdown for Midwest Region includes five bids each for women’s foil and epee and four for women’s sabre.