COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ten members of the Ohio State fencing program will be competing at the 2023 NCAA Championships hosted by Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. The men will compete Thursday and Friday, with the women competing Saturday and Sunday. Individual champions will be crowned in men’s and women’s epee, foil and sabre, with team standings determined by combining men’s and women’s results.
Championships Central | Live Scoring: EscrimeResults.com | Video stream: GoDuke.com
The Schedule
Thursday and Saturday, epee will start at 9 a.m., with foil beginning at 11 a.m. and sabre at 1:30 p.m. All three weapons are slated to start at 9 a.m. Friday and Sunday, with semifinal and championship bouts beginning at 1:30 p.m. The six semifinal bouts will be fenced on one strip, sequentially in order of epee, foil, sabre. Finals bouts will follow the semifinals, in the same order. Friday an awards ceremony for the men’s individual champions will follow the finals. Sunday the awards ceremony for the women’s individual champions and the Top 4 teams will follow the finals.
The Format
At the championships, fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After round-robin, the Top 4 finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place. An institution’s place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes during round-robin competition.
The Buckeye Competitors
Ohio State qualified 10 fencers – two each in men’s and women’s epee and foil and one in men’s and women’s in sabre – to the 2023 NCAA Championships. The group includes three three-time qualifiers (making their second trip to the final site), three fencers making a second consecutive trip, a two-time qualifier who will make his final site debut and three first-time qualifiers.
Among the Buckeye qualifiers are a fifth-year senior, two seniors, three juniors and three sophomores and one freshman. Four of the women who are competing in 2023 earned All-America honors at the 2022 championships.
Men’s Epee
- Henry Lange (Fifth year, Beaverton, Ore.) – Making first trip to NCAA Championship; was also an NCAA qualifier in 2020 before championships were canceled; 2023 NCAA Midwest Regional champion; placed sixth at this year’s CCFC meet; 2020 First Team All-American
- Paul Veltrup (So., Grefrath, Germany) – Earned first NCAA berth; bronze medalist at regionals this year; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and was league runner-up at individual championships
Women’s Epee
- Montserrat Viveros (Sr., Asuncion, Paraguay) – Three-time NCAA qualifier; finished third at 2023 NCAA Regionals; earned First Team All-CCFC accolades this year; Placed seventh at NCAA Championships last season, earning Second Team All-America honors; 2020 First Team All-American
- Yeva Mazur (So., Khmelnitsky, Ukraine) – Making second straight trip to NCAA Championships; fourth-place finisher at this year’s NCAA regionals; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and conference champion; placed 11th at NCAA Championships last season to earn Honorable Mention All-America accolades
Men’s Foil
- Diego Cervantes (Jr., Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico) – Three-time NCAA qualifier; finished third at 2023 NCAA Regional; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and tied for third at conference meet; 2020 Honorable Mention All-American; competed in 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- Edriss Ndiaye (Jr., Rockvillle, Md.) – Two-time NCAA qualifier; finished fifth at NCAA regionals this year; 2023 First Team All-CCFC; placed 19th in NCAA debut in 2022 Championships
Women’s Foil
- Alina Lee (So., Dublin, Calif.) – Making second consecutive NCAA trip; placed fourth at regionals this season; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and finished fifth at conference meet; placed 12th at 2022 NCAA Championships to earn Honorable Mention All-America accolades
- Dasha Myroniuk (Fr., Kiev, Ukraine) – Qualified for NCAA championships as a freshman; third-place finisher at this year’s NCAA regionals; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and won league individual crown
Men’s Sabre
- Jack Price (Jr., Franklin Lakes, N.J.) – Earned first NCAA spot; placed third at this year’s NCAA regionals; 2023 First Team All-CCFC and was conference runner-up
Women’s Sabre
- Julieta Toledo (Sr., Tijuana, Mexico) – Three-time NCAA qualifier; Placed fifth at NCAA regionals this year; 2023 First Team All-CCFC; won conference individual title for second time in 2023; notched sixth-place finish at 2022 NCAA Championships to earn Second Team All-America honors; 2020 First Team All-American; fenced in 2016 Rio Olympic Games
Ohio State NCAA History
- Ohio State won combined NCAA team titles in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the men’s national crown in 1942. The squad finished as runner-up in 2005, 2016 and ’17.
- Buckeyes have also claimed 18 individual titles – five in men’s epee, one in women’s epee, seven in men’s foil, two in women’s foil and three in men’s sabre.
- A Buckeye has won the men’s epee title each of the last three years Ohio State competed in the championships. Gabriel Feinberg was the 2022 champion, Oliver Shindler won in 2019 and Marc-Antoine Blais-Belanger won the 2018 crown.
- Current associate head coach Katarzyana Dabrowa claimed the women’s epee title in 2012. Other Buckeye champions include Maximillien Chastanet in men’s foil in 2016, Eleanor Harvey in women’s foil in 2016 and three-time champion Adam Crompton in men’s sabre (2003, ’04 and ’06).
- Ohio State finished fifth as a team at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
- Women’s championships started in 1982 and the first combined championship was in 1984.
The Buckeyes This Season
- The Buckeye women were 32-8 in duals this year, with the men 28-9.
- Ohio State had a near-sweep of the Central Collegiate Fencing Championships titles, claiming the men’s and women’s team championships and the men’s and women’s epee and foil squad trophies, along with the women’s sabre championship.
