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PHILADELPHIA - Lafayette's men's fencing team returned to action at the Philadelphia Invitational on Sunday afternoon against three squads gaining recognition in the most-recent national poll.

The Leopards faced off with a Duke squad ranked No. 9 by CollegeFencing360.com and a pair of teams receiving votes in North Carolina and NJIT. While the Maroon and White were defeated in all three contests, Sunday's invitational will dramatically raise Lafayette's strength of schedule for the year, which is an important component in determining who qualifies for NCAA Regional competition.

"Just like in other sports, competing against the best provides an incredible learning experience and puts our own skills in perspective," head coach Jarrod Rottau said. "I think this was the perfect event to have going into the MACFA Championships, as it will motivate the team to sharpen their skills during this upcoming week to prepare."

Sophomore Alex Gorloff remained in outstanding form despite the increase in competition level, going a combined 7-2 on the day. He was victorious in all three bouts against NJIT and went 2-1 against both Duke and North Carolina. Included in Gorloff's wins was a triumph over 2015 NCAA All-American Pascual Di Tella from Duke, and he also broke a 4-4 tie to secure a win in the sabre for the Leopards against NJIT.

Jake Burns added a pair of victories in the sabre for Lafayette against the Highlanders, and David Jennings posted a 2-1 mark in the epee against North Carolina.

The Leopards will now look forward to the MACFA Championships in Garfield, N.J., next Sunday. Gorloff will enter the weekend as the No. 1 overall seed in the sabre after going 39-3 against the 14 other teams competing in the competition during the regular season, while David Shindell (32-10) is the top seed in the epee.