2025-26 Women’s Fencing Season Preview

Granville, Ohio – The Denison Women’s Fencing team is set to build on last season’s remarkable achievements as they enter the new season. In 2024, the Big Red team achieved notable scores by weapon—33-19 in Epee, 39-13 in Foil, and 39-13 in Sabre. This impressive performance propelled them up the USA Fencing DIII polls while they consistently defeated several prominent institutions, including Northwestern, Brown, MIT, and The Ohio State University.

2024 Season Analysis

The 2024 season concluded with a noteworthy overall record of 111-45, demonstrating a positive trajectory across all three weapons: Epee, Foil, and Sabre. The season kicked off with an impressive showing at the Ohio State Duals, where the team secured a 4-1 record against competitors including Cleveland State and Georgia Tech. This strong start was complemented by an undefeated performance at the Vassar Invitational, where they finished 8-0, followed by an 8-3 record at the Brown Invitational.

As the season progressed, Denison continued to demonstrate strength with additional records of 5-2, 6-4, 5-0, and 3-3. The remarkable achievements from the last season culminated in numerous accolades and high praises, marking it as one of the most successful in the history of Big Red Fencing.

Looking Forward

The coming season promises continuity and strength for Denison, with nine NCAA Regional qualifiers returning to the team:

Epee

• Claire Anderson (Sophomore): Named the USFCA Newcomer of the Year, finishing with an 89-46 record. She was third at the Eastern Women’s Fencing Conference Championships and placed 17th at NCAA Regionals.
• Maggie Zhu (Senior): Holder of the program record for most epee career wins (165), she earned NCAA DIII All-Region honors and placed sixth at the EWFC Championships and 16th at NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Foil

• Lal Ertün (Junior): Finished her sophomore year with a 74% win rate, breaking the program record for most foil wins in a season and placing 10th at NCAA Midwest Regionals.
• Velma Hall (Senior): Completed the season with an 82-28 record and is the first fencer in program history to attain over 200 wins. Hall placed third at the CCFC Championships.
• Bella Musto (Senior): Qualifying for NCAA regionals for the third year in a row, she ranks fourth in program history with 104 career foil wins.

Sabre

• Delaney Brown (Senior): Finished 10th at NCAA Midwest Regionals and secured NCAA DIII All-Region honors.
• Corvus Endo (Junior): Set a program record with 97 Sabre wins in a season, and received USFCA All-American Second Team and NCAA DIII All-Region recognition.
• Natalie Isberg (Senior): Achieved a 63% win rate, placing 4th at EWFC Championships.
• Joyce Yu (Junior): Rounding out the Sabre squad, Yu ranked 19th at NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Upcoming Competitions

The Denison Women’s Fencing team will kick off their competitive season with the OSU Open hosted by Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Competition will begin with Epee and Foil at 8:30 AM, followed by Sabre at 9:45 AM.