COLUMBUS, Ohio- Making their program debut, the Denison men's fencing team officially started its 2026-27 season at The Ohio State University for the OSU Duals and Open. Across the two-day tournament, the Big Red faced Army West Point, Cleveland State, Purdue University club, Ohio State, and Wayne State. Denison wrapped day one with two medalist and a team record of 1-4 in dual competition.

 

OSU Open Results (Saturday, Oct. 3)

In the program's first-ever tournament, the men's fencing program made a statement, setting their own high standard on day one of competition. The Big Red earned two top-four finishes in two different weapons. Junior Mark Rifkind grabbed a third-place finish in foil, while first-year Stanton Hernandez took home bronze in sabre after tying for third. In the team's debut, they totaled seven top-15 finishes. Below is the breakdown of finishes by weapon.

 

Epee

Benno Müller- 10th

Brian Lehner- 13th

Avi Patel- 36th
 

Foil

Mark Rifkind - 3rd

Oliver Gonzalez- 13th 

Ezra Mundy - 25th

Matthew Hrehocik- 31st

Justin Tibbetts- T35th

 

Sabre

Stanton Hernandez- T3rd

Max Radjabli- 10th

Ashwath Pratheep-13th

Daniel Leon - 26th

 

OSU Duals (Sunday, Oct. 4)

Making their varsity tournament debut, the men's fencing program battled all day but fell short with a 1-4 team record. The lone win came against West Point (18-9), and they recorded two close losses to Division I Cleveland State (14-13) and to Purdue University's club program (14-13). The Big Red also suffered a 21-6 loss to Ohio State in the day's opening matchup, and a tough 18-9 loss to Wayne State. 

First-year foilist Mark Rifkind led the men's team with a 10-2 record, including a clean sweep of all three Ohio State and Cleveland State starters. Fellow first-year Oliver Gonzalez followed closely, leading the foil squad with a 9-6 record. 

The young epee squad gave a full-squad effort, with first-year Brian Lehner posting the strongest record at 6-9. Max Radjabli scored the most victories for the sabre squad throughout the dual competition, completing the weekend with a 9-5 record, followed by junior Ashwath Pratheep with a 5-9 record.

 

Opponent Total (1-4)	Epee	Foil	Sabre
Rd. 2: OSU 21- DEN 6	8-1	6-3	7-2
Exh.: Purdue Club 14- DEN 13	5-4	6-3	3-6
Rd. 4: DEN 18- West Point 9	5-4	9-0	4-5
Rd. 5: Wayne St. 18- DEN 9	7-2	5-4	6-3
Rd. 6: Cleveland St. 14- DEN 13	8-1	0-9	6-3
Total (Denison Bolded)	32-13	17-28	27-18

 

Head coach Peter Grandbois stated after the weekend wrapped up that, "Though the men's team didn't come away with the results we'd hoped for, they fought with everything they had and proved that they will be a force in the future."  

 

Up Next for the Big Red

Denison has a month-long break before traveling to Drew University in Madison, N.J., for the Drew Invitational.