Eastern Wayne Today

Five student-athletes from Wayne State University's fencing program have secured spots in the 2025 NCAA Fencing Championships. This announcement was made by the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee on Tuesday. The selection of five athletes marks the most qualifiers for WSU since 2008, when a similar number of participants were chosen.

The qualifying athletes include Mahmoud Elsayed in men's epee, Ethan Leung in men's foil, Zeyad Nofal in men's sabre, Reka Galfalvy in women's epee, and Ludovica Mancini in women's foil. Notably, this is Mancini's third consecutive qualification for the championships, while her teammates will be making their first appearances.

Last year, Mancini achieved 10 victories out of 23 bouts, securing an 18th place finish in women's foil.

Wayne State will compete alongside 32 other programs at the championships hosted by Penn State University from March 20-23. The event features individual competitions across six weapons categories: men's and women's epee, foil, and sabre.

Each category involves a round-robin competition where matches are decided by reaching five touches first. The top four performers per gender advance to semifinals with bouts extending to 15 touches. Winners proceed to the gold medal match while others share third place honors. Men's semifinals and finals occur on March 21; women's follow on March 23.

Teams earn points based on individual victories during round-robin play. Wayne State has consistently sent at least one fencer to these championships annually since resuming post-World War II in 1947.

The event will take place at Penn State's Multi-Sport Facility located in University Park, Pennsylvania.