CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University men's and women's fencing teams will face other collegiate teams for the first time this season this Sunday, Sept. 30, at the OSU Duals on the campus of Ohio State University.

Under the direction of head coach Andy Tulleners, in his ninth overall season leading the CSU program, Cleveland State hopes to start their season on a strong note. This will be the first of three collegiate dual events that the Vikings will compete in during the fall semester, and the first of three competitions that the Vikings will travel to Ohio State for during the 2018-19 season.

Cleveland State will fence various members of the Midwest Fencing Conference this weekend. The highlight matchup of the day for the Vikings will come against Ohio State. Ohio State, who is under first-year head coach Don Anthony, is coming off a third-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships. The OSU Duals will give the new Vikings a good sense of collegiate fencing while also allowing them to fence top-level competition. For CSU's full schedule for Sunday, please see below.

Fourteen student-athletes are expected to make their collegiate debuts across both the men's and women's teams this weekend. The women's team has the largest freshman class in program history. For the men, they welcome their strongest freshman class in the last decade, according to Tulleners. The freshman class comes from states all over the U.S., such as Washington, Florida, Kentucky and Michigan. Cleveland State is returning only four starters from last season. However, with the addition of so many new faces this season, CSU will look to build a new foundation for years to come. Even though both squads are young, both teams have the capability to post top finishes at the 2019 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships in February.

Cleveland State is hosting the 2019 NCAA Fencing Championships:
Cleveland State will be partnering with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission to host the 2019 NCAA Fencing Championships from March 21-24 in the Wolstein Center. The four-day long event will crown six individual national champions and one team champion. 

Sunday, Sept. 30
Cleveland State – Michigan State – 8:00 a.m.
Bowling Green – Cleveland State – 9:30 a.m.
Ohio State – Cleveland State – 10:30 a.m.
Indiana – Cleveland State – 11:30 a.m.
Cleveland State – Iowa – 1:00 p.m.
Cleveland State – Xavier – 2:00 p.m.