GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke earned five of the six ACC Fencer of the Year honors for the 2021 season, as the league’s annual awards were announced Friday following a vote of the league’s head coaches. Duke head coach Alex Beguinet was named the ACC Women’s Coach of the Year while Boston College’s Brendan Doris-Pierce was voted ACC Women’s Coach of the Year.

On the men’s side, North Carolina freshman Reza Merchant earned ACC Fencer of the Year honors for epee, Duke sophomore Finn Hossfeld claimed the ACC Fencer of the Year laurels for foil. Duke freshman Stephen Kim picked up ACC Fencer of the Year honors for sabre.
 
On the women’s side, Duke swept the three Fencer of the Year honors, as junior Huda Aldadah was selected for epee, junior Zoe Superville for foil and junior Alex Gorman for sabre.
 
Merchant was the champion in men’s epee at the ACC Championships, going 8-3 in the round-robin portion. He also earned Most Valuable Fencer honors at the ACC Men’s Fencing Championships. Merchant qualified for the NCAA Championships and was ranked fifth in the nation in FSF (106.3332).
 
Hossfeld won the ACC title in men’s foil after going 9-3 during the championships. He earned First-Team All-America honors after tying for third place and recording 19 wins at the NCAA Championships.
 
Kim was the conference sabre champion, going 11-2 during the ACC Championships. He went on to place fifth at the NCAA Championships, racking up 15 wins in earning Second-Team All-America honors.
 
Aldadah claimed the conference women’s epee crown after going 12-1 during the ACC Championships.
 
Superville was the league women’s foil champion and also was voted the Most Valuable Fencer at the ACC Women’s Fencing Championships. She went 13-0 during the individual competition at the ACC Championships.
 
Gorman was the conference champion in women’s sabre and went 11-2 during the individual competition at the ACC Championships. She then placed sixth at the NCAA Championships, earning Second-Team All-America honors. She recorded 14 wins at the NCAA Championships.
 
Beguinet led the Duke women to their first ACC team championship in 2021, while sweeping the individual weapon titles. He also guided the men’s team to its second ACC team title this season. The Blue Devils earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship, their best national finish in program history. Beguinet was named ACC Women’s Fencing Coach of the Year for the second time (2016). He also was the ACC Men’s Fencing Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
 
Doris-Pierce is the first Boston College coach to earn ACC Coach of the Year honors on the men’s or women’s side. The BC men finished with four All-Americans at the NCAA Championships while the Eagles picked up an eighth-place team finish, the best in program history. At the ACC Championships, the men’s team finished in a three-way tie for first place with Duke and North Carolina before falling in the tiebreaker.
 
ACC FENCERS OF THE YEAR:
Men’s Epee: Reza Merchant, North Carolina
Men’s Foil: Finn Hossfeld, Duke
Men’s Sabre: Stephen Kim, Duke
 
Women’s Epee: Huda Aldadah, Duke
Women’s Foil: Zoe Superville, Duke
Women’s Sabre: Alex Gorman, Duke
 
ACC Men’s Coach of the Year: Brendan Doris-Pierce, Boston College
ACC Women’s Coach of the Year: Alex Beguinet, Duke