Buckeyes Begin Year with 20 Medals at OSU Open

Saturday, October 3

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

OSU Open

Buckeyes Begin Year with 20 Medals at OSU Open

10/3/2026 7:27:00 PM | Fencing

Results Photo Gallery

Ohio State captures five of six gold medals

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State fencing program notched 20 Top 8 finishes at the OSU Open in French Field House Saturday to begin the 2026-27 campaign. The Buckeyes won five of six gold medals. In the women's events, Marie-Frederique Millette (epee), May Kagan (foil) and Natalia Botello (sabre) finished first, along with Ayush Shah (epee) and Carter Berrio (sabre) for the men.

OSU Duals Sunday
Sunday features six rounds of men's and women's dual competition in French Field House, with Ohio State, Army West Point, Cleveland State, Denison, OSU Club, Purdue and Wayne State competing.

Results will be updated throughout the day on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

OSU Duals schedule
Round 1 (9 a.m.) – Ohio State vs. OSU Club, Cleveland State vs. Purdue
Round 2 (10:10 a.m.) – Ohio State vs. Denison, Wayne State vs. Purdue, OSU Club vs. Army West Point
Round 3 (11:20 a.m.) – Ohio State vs. Wayne State, Cleveland State vs. Army West Point, Purdue vs. OSU Club
12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lunch Break
Round 4 (1:30 p.m.) – Ohio State vs. Purdue, Denison vs. Army West Point, OSU Club vs. Cleveland State
Round 5 (2:40 p.m.) – Ohio State vs. Cleveland State, Purdue vs. Army West Point, Denison vs. Wayne State
Round 6 (3:50 p.m.) – Cleveland State vs. Denison, Wayne State vs. Army West Point

OSU Open Wrapup
Women's Epee
Marie-Frederique Millette was the No. 2 seed after pools and posted 15-5 and 15-7 wins after a first-round bye. She notched a 15-10 semifinal victory and then prevailed 15-8 in the final.

Erika Gumagay finished fifth after advancing to the quarterfinals. The No. 4 seed, she had a bye and then posted a 15-10 win in the round of 16 before a 15-11 loss.

1. Marie-Frederique Millette
5. Erika Gumagay
9. Catherine Popa

Women's Foil
Ohio State fencers took three of the four semifinal spots, with freshman May Kagan ending as the champion. Livia Burberry, in her first collegiate meet, and Lira Cannon tied for third.

Kagan was the No. 2 seed after pools, earning a bye before notching 15-5 and 15-2 victories. She defeated Cannon 15-9 in the semifinals and then won the final 15-6.

Cannon was the No. 3 seed and won her first match 15-2, followed by a 15-3 win. In the quarterfinals, Cannon prevailed 15-10 before her loss to Kagan. Burberry, the No. 5 seed, opened the tableau with back-to-back 15-5 victories and then prevailed 15-6 in the quarterfinals before losing 15-12 in the semifinals. Masha Cojocari placed fifth. The No. 7 seed, she had 15-2 and 15-6 victories before falling to Kagan.

1. May Kagan
3t. Livia Burberry
3t. Lira Cannon
5. Masha Cojocari
10. Cici Liu
11. Avery Levy
21. Fara Latifi

Women's Sabre
Five Buckeyes placed in the Top 8 in women's sabre, with three semifinalists. Natalia Botello won the title for the second year in a row. After going 6-0 in pools (+25), Botello was the No. 1 seed. She had a shutout in round one before a 15-7 victory in the round of 16 and a 15-10 quarterfinal win. Botello defeated teammate Arlow Wiggers 15-8 in the semifinals and topped Buckeye Maria Alexe in the final by the same score.

Alexe was the No. 2 seed, beginning the direct elimination with 15-1 and 15-6 victories. She won by a touch, 15-14, in both the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the final. No. 4 seed Wiggers posted a 15-1 win in round one before a 15-7 victory. She topped her teammate Grace Fan in the quarterfinals, 15-11, to advance before dropping her bout to Botello. Freshman Ines Dehon was the No. 10 seed and posted 15-4 and 15-11 wins before her loss to Alexe, finishing seventh. Fan, the No. 12 seed, had 15-2 and 15-9 victories to reach the quarterfinals and ended eighth.

1. Natalia Botello
2. Maria Alexe
3t. Arlow Wiggers
7. Ines Dehon
8. Grace Fan
11. Varvara Mankova

Men's Epee
The No. 14 seed out of pools, Ayush Shah made a run to the gold medal. After a first-round bye, he posted back-to-back 15-5 and 15-4 wins. Shah won 15-13 in the quarterfinals and 15-10 in the semifinals to reach the championship bout, where he posted a 15-9 win.

Buckeye freshmen Reid Kokenge (sixth) and Joshua Riggins (seventh) placed in the top eight. Kokenge was the No. 7 seed and recorded 15-6 and 15-9 victories after a bye. He fell to the No. 2 seed by a touch, 14-13, in the quarterfinals. Riggins earned the No. 10t seed and had two 15-10 victories before falling to Shah in the quarterfinals.

1. Ayush Shah
6. Reid Kokenge
7. Joshua Riggins
9. Cador Beautyman

Men's Foil
Three Buckeyes finished in the Top 8 - Samuel Freedman was fifth, with Bill Fu seventh and Mostafa Tahoun eighth.

Freedman was the No. 2 seed after pools. After a bye in round one, he won his next bouts 15-2 and 15-8 before falling 15-13 in the quarterfinals. Fu was the No. 9 seed and had a bye, followed by a 15-11 victory and 15-2 win. He lost to the eventual champion 15-6 in the next round. Tahoun, the No. 11t seed after pools, had a bye to the second round, where he won 15-7. The Buckeye posted a 15-9 victory in the round of 16 before a 15-12 loss.

Ohio State alum Edriss Ndiaye was the No. 1 seed after pools and won the gold medal.

5. Samuel Freeman
7. Bill Fu
8. Mostafa Tahoun

Men's Sabre
In an all Buckeye final, Carter Berrio won gold, defeating Samuel Rightler, 15-11. Berrio was the No. 6 seed and had a bye into the round of 32, where he won 15-5, followed by a close 15-13 win in the next round. He advanced to the semifinals with a 15-7 win, with his opponent withdrawing to send him to the final.

Rightler was the No. 5 seed with a bye into the round of 32, where he won 15-7. He rolled to a 15-3 win in the round of 16 and then advanced to the final with a 15-8 victory.

James Schardine was the No. 1 seed out of pools and ended fifth. After a bye, he posted 15-9 and 15-3 victories before a 15-9 quarterfinal loss.

1. Carter Berrio
2. Samuel Rightler
5. James Schardine