CLEVELAND, Ohio – Three Vikings won individual titles as the Cleveland State University fencing program hosted the 11th annual John Szent-Kiraly Open Sunday inside Woodling Gymnasium.
Freshman Paul DiVenti won the mixed foil title, redshirt sophomore Declan Forth won the mixed saber title and freshman Ilyssa Freiburger won the women's epee title as eighteen current Viking student-athletes and assistant coach Peter McOwen competed in the event for the program. Seven different Vikings notched top-three finishes on the day.
DiVenti led a dominant CSU performance in the 35-person mixed-foil field as the Vikings swept the top four spots.
DiVenti posted a 5-1 mark in pool play and finished first on the strength of a +21 indicator that saw him allow only eight touches received. After earning a first-round bye in the direct elimination portion, he defeated five straight opponents to claim the title.
Freshman Lucas Bolton was the runner-up to DiVenti in the foil competition as his only two setbacks in the event came from Viking teammates. Freshman Harry Hardman and sophomore Will Waters tied for third in the foil tournament as both outdid their seed. Hardman had been seeded 10th entering the event, but he won against nine straight opponents before losing in the semifinals to his CSU teammate.
Forth brought home the title in the saber category. He went unbeaten in pool play, with four of his five wins being of the shutout variety. After earning the top seed and a first-round bye in the bracket portion, Forth won four consecutive matches to 15 without letting a single opponent reach double figures in the scoring column.
Sophomore Dante Centuori tied for third in the saber competition after entering the event seeded eighth. He went a perfect 6-0 in pool play and won both his bracket matches before losing to a CSU teammate. Senior Jakarri Kent took ninth in the saber event while sophomore Dorian Picholas was 11th.
Freiburger added to the Vikings' trophy haul, but she did it the hard way. She notched a trio of wins in pool play to earn the eighth seed for the bracket portion, the same seed she held prior to the event. She then won four consecutive elimination matches, three of which came against higher seeds, including knocking off the top two seeds in the tournament. Freiburger used a 15-13 win in the final to take home the crown.
Freshman Maeve Kozak finished sixth in the women's epee event.
Freshman Jared Felker was CSU's top finisher in the mixed epee event as he tied for third in the 43-person field. He went 4-1 in pool play before winning three matches in the bracket portion to reach the semifinals. Sophomore Ian Wu took seventh in the same competition, improving upon his seed by five places.
Cleveland State will resume action in mid-November at the Case Western Duals.
