Johns Hopkins University Athletics Men’s Fencing won four of five matches on the first day of the Ranger Invitational on Nov. 7, 2026, in Madison, New Jersey. Johns Hopkins defeated Detroit Mercy 19-8, Stevens 17-10, Lawrence 19-8 and Wayne State 18-9, while falling to Cleveland State 14-13. Leonid Kotov recorded the 100th win of his career during the victory over Lawrence.
Johns Hopkins Men’s Fencing Opens With Four-Win Day
Johns Hopkins opened against Cleveland State by winning the sabre 7-2 and the epee 5-4. Cleveland State took the foil 8-1 to secure the overall victory. James Knox led the epee squad with three wins, Ayan Bhatnagar won two of three bouts, and Alex Chterental won all three of his sabre bouts.
Johns Hopkins responded with a weapons sweep against Detroit Mercy. Cyrus Contractor won all three of his bouts, while Ariel Eybelman and Noah Zeng each added two wins. Yi Peng Sha led the foil squad with three wins, Borna Andric recorded two foil wins, and Bhatnagar led the epee squad with three victories.
Johns Hopkins then won the sabre 8-1 and the epee 6-3 against Stevens. Chterental and Zeng combined for six sabre wins, while Knox led the epee squad. Nathan Kim won two epee bouts, and Sha won all three of his foil bouts in the 17-10 team victory.
Leonid Kotov Reaches 100 Career Wins
Johns Hopkins earned another team victory against Lawrence by winning the sabre 7-2 and the epee 8-1. Alexander Pi won all three of his bouts, while Zeng and Kotov each won two. Kotov’s first victory of the match marked the 100th win of his career.
Athreya Aravind and Knox combined for six epee wins against Lawrence, while Andric recorded three foil wins. Lawrence won the foil 5-4, but Johns Hopkins secured the overall match with its victories in the sabre and epee.
Johns Hopkins Completes Wayne State Sweep
Johns Hopkins closed the day with a weapons sweep against Wayne State. Kotov and Zeng each won two bouts in the sabre, and Kotov clinched the team’s 6-3 win in that weapon. Sha won all three of his bouts, including the clinching bout in the foil, as Johns Hopkins won that weapon 5-4.
Knox also won all three of his epee bouts to lead Johns Hopkins to a 7-2 victory in the weapon. The combined results produced an 18-9 team win and gave Johns Hopkins four victories on the first day after the opening loss to Cleveland State.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
Johns Hopkins University Athletics Men’s Fencing displayed production across all three weapons while winning four matches in Madison. Kotov’s 100th career victory provided the day’s individual milestone, while Knox, Sha and other Johns Hopkins fencers recorded multiple-bout performances.
Johns Hopkins men’s fencing is scheduled to continue the Ranger Invitational on Nov. 8 against Lawrence, Denison, Cleveland State, Wheaton (MA) and Wayne State.
Source: Original report
