COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Big Red fencing team closed the OSU Elite Invitational with a pair of wins over Air Force and Cleveland State to improve to 3-5 on the season. The tournament featured some of the top teams in the nation with Cornell fencing today against defending National Champion Notre Dame, as well as Princeton, which finished fourth at the 2017 NCAA Fencing Championships.
 
For the second day in a row, the foils led the way for the Big Red, going 27-9 and earning victories over all four opponents. The squad was led by a pair of freshman – Marissa Viqueira (11-1) and Grace Ding (9-3), while senior co-captain Luby Kiriakidi posted a record of 6-4.
 
The epee squad also finished with a winning record (20-16) with solid victories over Air Force (7-2) and Cleveland State (8-1). Sophomores Rebecca Jones (7-5) and Vera Lin (6-4) both finished with winning records, while Caroline Kleiner (6-6) and Rachael Sternlicht (1-1) finished at .500.
 
The saber squad defeated Cleveland State to finish with a record of 12-24. Senior Megan Buteau, junior Valerie Tan, and junior Katherine Kudryashov all finished with four wins on the day.
 
COACHES CORNER – HEAD COACH DARIA SCHNEIDER
I'm incredibly proud of our team this weekend.  Despite having a few athletes out of the lineup, the team performed well.  Everyone stayed focused and positive through difficult matches with some of the nation's best teams.  They were led in perseverance and grit by our incredible captain, Luby Kiriakidi.  We lost focus at the end of the day Saturday, leading to a loss to Northwestern, but the team came back strong for day two.  We look forward to another look at them, as well as UNC later this season.  Our entirely sophomore epee squad showed they have reached a new level of maturity, patience and tactical ownership of the sport.  Senior Megan Buteau kept the sabre squad focused on what they could control through a string of difficult match ups.  Kiriakidi, the lone senior among an otherwise freshmen squad, led foil to a 6-2 record on the weekend.  All our freshmen came focused, fierce and executed on what we've worked on in practice so far this year.  This included victories by walk-ons, Sosonia Ma and Jordan Rusoff.  Special thanks to Andrew Turker for traveling with the team this weekend.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will enjoy nearly a month-long break before it heads to the Brandies Invitational on Sunday, Dec. 3.
 
CORNELL RESULTS
Notre Dame def. Cornell, 19-8
Sabre: 9-0; Foil: 4-5; Epee: 6-3
Princeton def. Cornell, 20-7
Sabre: 9-0; Foil: 4-5; Epee: 7-2
Cornell def. Air Force, 19-8
Sabre: 3-6; Foil: 9-0; Epee: 7-2
Cornell def. Cleveland State, 25-2
Sabre: 9-0; Foil: 8-1; Epee: 8-1
 
Saber Squad (12-24)
Notre Dame: 0-9
Princeton: 0-9
Air Force: 3-6
Cleveland State: 9-0
 
Saber Members (12-24)
Megan Buteau: 4-8
Valerie Tan: 4-8
Katherine Kudryashov: 4-1
Sosonia Ma: 0-7
 
Foil Squad (27-9)
Notre Dame: 6-5
Princeton: 5-4
Air Force: 9-0
Cleveland State: 8-1
 
Foil Members (27-9)
Marissa Viqueira: 11-1
Grace Ding: 9-3
Luby Kiriakidi: 6-4
Jordan Rusoff: 1-1
 
Epee Squad (20-16)
Notre Dame: 3-6
Princeton: 2-7
Air Force: 7-2
Cleveland State: 8-1
 
Epee Members (20-16)
Rebekah Jones: 7-5
Vera Lin: 6-4
Caroline Kleiner: 6-6
Rachael Sternlicht: 1-1