COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Denison women's fencing team officially kicked off its 2026-27 campaign 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 came out of the open competition with seven medalists, and finished with a team record of 4-1 in dual competition.

 

OSU Open Results (Saturday, Oct. 3)

The Big Red opened day one of competition with record-breaking performances. Last season, Denison earned five medals, with just one member in the top four. This time, the women earned seven medals, with four women in the top four. To be considered a medalist, you must finish in the top eight. Leading the Big Red was senior Lal Ertun, who took home silver in foil; first-year Sasha Enikeeva joined her in the top three with a third-place finish. Sophomore Tessa Randleman and first-year Emilia Salistra tied for bronze in epee, rounding out Denison's top four finishers. Newcomers Arya Telci and Avery Little finished sixth in epee and sabre respectively, while junior Claire Anderson came in seventh in epee.

 

For a full team breakdown, check below.

Epee

Tessa Randleman- T3rd

Emilia Salistra- T3rd

Claire Anderson- 7th

Adeline DePauw- 10th

Grace Wood- T22nd

 

Foil

Lal Ertun- 2nd

Elly Kennedy- 9th

Isabel Tse- 18th

Evelyn Snyders- 20th

Mya Hernandez- 24th

 

Sabre

Sasha Enikeeva- T3rd

Avery Little- 6th

Leila Probasco- 10th

Joyce Yu- 12th

Scarlett Shelley- 13th

 

OSU Duals (Sunday, Oct. 4)

The Big Red closed out its weekend in Columbus with a team record of 4-1 with wins over West Point (26-1), Wayne State (15-12), Cleveland State (17-10), and Purdue (21-6), with its lone loss of the day coming from the Ohio State (18-9).

Foilist Lal Ertun was crucial in the day's dominance for the women's team with a 13-2 record. Junior Elly Kennedy wrapped the day with the next-best foilist record at 5-3. On the epee strip, junior Claire Anderson led the way with an 8-6 record, and sophomore Tessa Randleman went 5-3. 

Finally, in sabre, first-years Sasha Enikeeva and Leila Probasco were strong with 9-5 and 5-4 records, respectively.

Opponent - Total (4-1)	Epee	Foil	Sabre
Rd. 2: OSU 18 - DEN 9	5-4	6-3	7-2
Exh.: DEN 21 - Purdue Club 6	4-5	8-1	9 -0
Rd. 4: DEN 26 - West Point 1	8-1	9-0	9-0
Rd. 5: DEN 15 - Wayne St. 12	5-4	6-3	4-5
Rd. 6: DEN 17 - Cleveland St. 10	6-3	6-3	5-4
Total (Denison Bolded)	27-18	32-13	29-16

 

Head coach Peter Grandbois shared that "The women's team proved themselves as seasoned competitors today, pushing Ohio State the entire match and showing the rest of the field they meant business."  

 

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.