NORTON, Mass. — Wheaton College (Mass.) men's fencer Phillip Nunnink (Kansas City, Mo.) was named a Northeast Fencing Conference First Team All-Star, while Grant Smith (Oakland, Calif.) was selected to the Second Team, it was announced by the league.

Nunnink repeats as a First Team selection for the Lyons after being named last year as well, while Smith is a Second Team All-Star for the second consecutive season. 

The pair were both chosen following the conference's one-day competition on February 28, where each league school competed against each other in five dual matches. 

To say that Nunnink was dominant would be an understatement. The sophomore won 14 of 15 foil matches for a remarkable 93.33% winning percentage for the highest win rate among any foil fencers on the day, while tying Boston College sophomore Alex Sennewald (Houston, Texas), who also won 14 of 15 epee bouts, for the highest winning percentage of any weapon. A graduate of Rockhurst High School, Nunnink rolled over his opponents, winning 10 straight bouts, before finally falling in a 5-4 decision to Massachusetts Institute of Technology senior Henry Zhang (Scarsdale, N.Y.). Nunnink won all three of his bouts at foil against Boston College, and surrendered just two or fewer points in two of them. He continued his brilliance, sweeping Vassar College, while dropping just six points combined. The Finance major marched on, defeating all three of his Brandeis University foes and did not give up more than three points in any of his contests. Nunnink took two of three bouts from MIT with 5-3 and 5-2 decisions against the Engineers. He capped the day by winning all three bouts against Sacred Heart University.  

For the season, Nunnink posted a 47-25 (65.2%) record in foil prior to the NCAA Northeast Regional competition. Much like his uncanny stretch of success during the Northeast Fencing Conference meet at Boston College, Nunnink registered 17 matches where he won at least two of three bouts, including nine 3-0 sweeps in the foil during the season. Nunnink posted a 17-10 overall mark at the Schiller Duels, hosted by Northwestern University on January 31-February 1 and swept through University of the Incarnate Word, University of Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State University. 

Nunnink has been outstanding at Wheaton, owning a 102-52 record (66.2%) over the past two seasons. 

Smith earned Second Team honors after compiling an 8-7 (53.3%) record in foil. The sophomore swept BC, 3-0, while winning two of three bouts against both Sacred Heart and Vassar. The Saint Mary's College product dropped just six points in his three wins over Boston College, including a 5-0 shutout triumph. Smith gave up just three points combined in his two wins against Sacred Heart. 

The Business major turned in a 45-36 (55.6%) win-loss record heading into the regional championship, including 10 wins without dropping a point. Smith posted a winning record in 15 matches, while recording seven sweeps this season. The West Coast native opened the season with a gaudy 17-7 mark at the Drew Invitational, including 3-0 sweeps over host Drew University, Lafayette College and Long Island University Brooklyn. He also recorded a 16-11 mark at the Schiller Duels and put together a 10-bout win streak with 3-0 efforts against Incarnate Word, Lawrence University and Detroit Mercy. 

In his two seasons, Smith has won 60% of his bouts, compiling a 93-62 record. 

The pair joined sophomore Oliver Smink (Rochester, N.Y.) and first years Jun-Ho Chen (Middletown, N.Y.), Charles Pedersen (Shoreham, N.Y.) and Solomon Taylor Evanston, Ill.) at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on March 8 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.