Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University fencing teams are set to participate in the NCAA Midwest Regional, which will be hosted by Denison University at the Mitchell Athletic Center. The event is scheduled to commence at 9:00 AM on Saturday, March 8.

A total of eight teams will compete in the Midwest Region. These include Cleveland State University, Denison (women's only), the University of Detroit Mercy, Lawrence University, Northwestern University (women's only), the University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, and Wayne State.

Each team can have up to 12 representatives from each gender with a maximum of five athletes per weapon category: epee, foil, and sabre. Wayne State's competitors include Shuayb Dinkins from Kissimmee for men's epee and Reka Galfalvy from Budapest for women's epee among others.

Last year’s regional saw Wayne State hosting the event with eight male fencers and six female fencers participating. Notable performances included Ramadan Dinkins placing eighth in men's epee and Salma Abdrabou finishing eleventh in women's epee.

Recently at the Central Collegiate Fencing Conference Championships hosted by Wayne State, both men’s and women’s teams achieved commendable results. The men's squad secured second place overall with their epee team finishing second as well. On an individual level, Mahmoud Elsayed won first place in men's epee while Zeyad Nofal took second place in men's sabre.

In terms of national rankings by the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA), Wayne State is ranked No. 19 for men and No. 38 for women. Other Midwest Region teams like Notre Dame and Ohio State also hold high national rankings across both genders.