UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s and women’s fencing teams completed the first day of the Elite Invitational at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, November 8. The Nittany Lions competed against conference rivals and ranked opponents in nine-bout team matches, including No. 3 Harvard and No. 6 / 5 Ohio State, for the first time this season.
NO. 6 / 5 OHIO STATE
Penn State completed its first match of the competition against No. 6 / 5 Ohio State. The men lost to Ohio State, 16-11 and the women lost to Ohio State 17-10.
Men’s foil competed first, with Ohio State winning 5-4 in a tight bout.
In men’s epee, Penn State edged out a 5-4 victory with strong performances from Vasil Ivakimov, Sultan Hassan and Mohammed Yassen all earning victories. Ivakimov and Hassan went 2-1.
Ohio State took the victory in men’s saber, 7-2.
The Nittany Lions won women’s foil in a 5-4 victory over the Buckeyes. Eden De La Cruz went 3-0 in her first competition of the season. Thea Fernandes and Clarisse Tan each earned a pair of victories.
Women’s saber lost in a tight 5-4 match against Ohio State.
DENISON
The Nittany Lions lost their team competition against Denison in a 15-12 defeat.
Women’s foil saw Fernandes go 2-1 against Denison in Penn State’s 3-6 loss.
In the Nittany Lions’ 5-4 victory in women’s epee, Allegra Cristofoletto and Yuna Tamura each went 2-1 against Denison. Lena Gyenes added another victory to seal Penn State’s 5-4 win.
Women’s saber lost a tight match, 4-5 to Denison. Amelia Baker, Kim and Scott all earned victories in the first round of bouts.
AIR FORCE
Both the men’s and women’s squads earned wins over the Air Force. The women won 17-10 while the men won 14-13.
Women’s foil won 5-4 against the Air Force. De La Cruz went 3-0 in her bouts for the second time during the match as Fernandes went 2-1.
In women’s epee, the Nittany Lions won 6-3. Tamura went 3-0 in her bouts against the Air Force and Cristofoletto went 2-1 and Gyenes earned a victory.
Women’s saber won 6-3, with Kim going 2-1 and Scott earning another victory.
Although the Air Force won 5-4 in men’s foil, Penn State earned 5-4 victories in both men’s epee and saber.
Yassen went 3-0 in men’s epee with Hassan and Zachary Suico earning victories to seal the Nittany Lions’ victory in epee. In men’s saber, Neil Lilov went 3-0 with two additional victories from Tyson Deck and Carlos Fernando Chacon.
NO. 3 HARVARD
The men’s and women’s teams lost to No. 3 Harvard. The women lost 15-12 and the men lost 18-9.
The women’s foil team lost 8-1 while women’s epee won 7-2. Tamura went 3-0 for the second time on day one of the competition, with two additional victories from Cristofoletto. Women’s saber lost a tight 5-4 match, with Kim going 2-1.
On the men’s side, foil won a tight 5-4 match. Spencer Burke and Alessio Fukuda went 2-1.
NEXT UP
Day two of the Ohio State Elite Invitational is on Sunday, November 9, with first bouts starting at 8 a.m. at the French Field House in Columbus, Ohio.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the Penn State Fencing team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateFen) and X/Instagram (@pennstatefen). Live updates during competitions regarding meet day information and other important notes will be posted on X.