COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s fencing team claimed both men’s and women’s Midwest Fencing Conference championships at French Field House Sunday. The men defended their squad title and edged out second-place Cleveland State by 75 points. The women beat No. 9 Northwestern for the third time this season, prevailing by 45 points.
Ohio State swept all individual and team competitions on both sides, making them the undisputed conference champions. An overall team championship was not awarded this season; Ohio State had claimed the last six MFC team titles.
You get a conference title, you get a conference title; everybody get a conference title! 🏆@OhioStateFEN joined the @OhioStSwimDive women in raising a trophy this weekend! #SlowMoMonday pic.twitter.com/HjCVWs1TjS
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 24, 2020
No. 3 MEN
The men’s squad swept the team competition to earn the MFC championship trophy. The men finished with 810 points, 75 points ahead of the second-place finisher.
The men’s sabre unit claimed gold over Michigan with a decisive 5-0 finals victory. The squad dropped only three bouts on the day. Roscoe Swartz, who won the individual MFC title Saturday, Domenik Koch, Shanvanth Arnipalli, Stephen Chou, Matthew Hayes, Frank Ditullio and Blake Bradford all competed.
Led by 2020 MFC individual foil champion freshman Diego Cervantes, the foil unit also placed first. Cervantes went undefeated on the day and Nathan Wreidt, Leon Cao and Will Gaziano also put points on the board, helping to secure the first-place finish. The Buckeyes walked away with the gold after a 5-2 victory over Cleveland State.
This year’s MFC champion Henry Lange, Matthew Comes, Chris Collado, Kaiden Crotchett, Bence Bende, JR Culpepper and Ethan Edwards all contributed points to the men’s epee unit. After a close 5-4 win over the University of Chicago in the semifinals, they shut out Cleveland State 5-0 in the gold-medal bout.
No. 4 WOMEN
The women’s squad avenged their 2019 MFC second-place finish by beating No. 9 Northwestern in the finals.
After dominating the competition in the early rounds, the sabre unit met Northwestern in the finals to earn back their title. In the finals bout, Sarah Merza, Julieta Toledo, the 2020 MFC champ, and Aleksandra Kolmykova all contributed wins to give the Buckeyes a 5-2 victory. Stephanie Miller, Nicole Fisher and Evie Bustamante also contributed wins on the day.
Freshman epee fencer Monteserrat Viveros went undefeated on the day. Natalia Falkowski, Alexanne Verret, who claimed her second MFC title Saturday, and Jessica Thow also contributed wins. The squad beat out Northwestern in a close 5-4 finals matchup.
The foil unit also fenced against Northwestern in the final match of the day. Three-time foil conference champion Camilla Rivano and podium finishers Gabriela Cecchini and Alexa Laskaris contributed to a 5-2 finals win over the Wildcats.
NEXT UP
The Buckeyes will head to Detroit, Mich., for the NCAA Regionals March 7.
