En garde, prêts, ink!

issue 01 | summer 2024
Peter Grandbois

In just its fifth season as a varsity program, the women’s fencing team defeated a pair of nationally ranked Division I teams — No. 5 Ohio State and No. 15 Air Force at the Ohio State Elite Invitational. To celebrate, head coach Peter Grandbois and assistant coach Rhys Douglas did the only natural thing.

They got tattoos.

It was Grandbois’s first, and he didn’t spare any ink.

He vetted it with the team, and after receiving their enthusiastic approval, made an appointment with a tattoo artist in Columbus in December 2023. His tattoo displays the weapons used in fencing — foil, epee, and sabre — with the Latin phrase “Pugno Ergo Sum” (I fight, therefore I am). Beneath the Latin phrase are the fallen opponents: “OSU” and “AF,” crossed out to mark the defeat.

Each time the Big Red takes down a Division I ranked team, he’s committed to adding that college’s initials to his arm.

Published May 2024
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