CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State University fencing team began its 2018-19 season Saturday by hosting its annual CSU Fall Open inside Woodling Gymnasium.
Fifteen Vikings competed in at least one event as mixed gender epee, foil and saber were held along with a women's epee discipline.
Ahmad Taqi had the highest finish by a Viking at the event, placing fifth of 61 competitors in the foil discipline. He led a trio of Viking men in the top 20 in that event.
Taqi went undefeated to win his pool. After earning a bye in the first round, he won direct elimination bouts in the second and third rounds before dropping a 15-10 match in the quarterfinals.
Will Waters was not too far behind Taqi, taking 11th in the foil, while Sawyer Cornett was 16th. Waters won his pool with a 5-1 mark and proceeded to win a pair of bracket matches before bowing out. Cornett posted a 4-1 mark in pool play and won his opening two direct elimination bouts before falling short against the top seed.
A number of Vikings took part in the epee event, which featured both quality and quantity. Seventy two participants entered the field, which earned an A4 designation for the number of high-level competitors.
Ian Wu was CSU's top finisher in the epee event as he took 27th place. He went 3-2 in pool play to earn a bye in the first round of bracket matches. He won his second round direct elimination bout before falling to an eventual semifinalist.
Brodee Bocek, Jonah Kasallis and Griffin Winterman all claimed top-40 finishes in the epee event. Bocek entered the event seeded 44th but used a 5-1 mark in pool play to help him better his seed.
Dorian Pichola was CSU's lone participant in the saber competition, and she finished in 25th place.
For full results, please click the link at the top of this article.
Cleveland State will resume action on the final weekend of September at the Ohio State Duals.