Columbia University
Ivy League M & W Championships, I
Fencers Win Three of Four in First Ivy Fencing Championships
1/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
With victories over the first three schools, the Lions fencers appeared well on their way to winning their sixth consecutive men's Ivy title, and regaining the Ivy women's crown which Columbia had owned in 2003.
But Harvard loomed at the end of the day, and that spelled danger for the Lions. Once the weakest Ivy League fencing program, the Crimson had revived in recent years under the direction of head coach Peter Brand, and had broken through last year, winning the women's championship and sharing the men's crown with Columbia. Both schools were intent on sole "ownership" this season.
Several teams had already completed their events for the afternoon, and the attention of fans and fencers alike at Newman Arena could be directed to the Columbia-Harvard matches. They saw two tense, exciting events.
The men completed the first round with a slight edge, winning five of nine, as both foil and sabre won two of three. The women got 2-1 showings from sabre and epee, but foil was 0-3, for a 5-4 Harvard edge.
The men continued their winning ways in the second round, again going 5-4 to lead 10-8 entering the third round. As in the first round, sabre and epee won twice each, and foil took one bout.
Unfortunately, the Columbia women duplicated their first round result as well, again going 4-5, to fall behind the Crimson, 10-8 entering the third and final round. Foil rebounded from its 0-3 round to win two of three, as did sabre. But women's epee lost all three bouts.
Sabre was first up in the third round. The men lost two of three, and saw their lead shrink to one bout, 11-10. The Columbia women vaulted into an 11-10 lead though, thanks to a 3-0 sabre showing, as senior co-captain Emma Baratta (CC-Somerville, N.J.) defeated Alexa Weingarden, 5-1; sophomore Danielle Gordet (BC-Wellesley, Mass.) beat Carolyn Wright, 5-3; and first-year Daria Schneider (CC-Brookline, Mass.) topped Samantha Parker, 5-2. With both Columbia teams needing just three wins in the final six bouts, victory appeared within their grasp. But it was Harvard which turned up the pressure.
The men's match was no contest. Harvard won three of three in foil, and the same in epee, taking the victory easily, 16-11. The Crimson foil fencers scored the required 15 touches to win, and limited Columbia to just five. The Lion epee team made it much closer, as both sophomore Gershom Gannon-O'Gara (Los Angeles, Calif.) and first-year Max Czapanskiy (Takoma Park, Md.) lost 5-4 bouts. Harvard's Benji Ungar, an Epee World Cup star, closed out the match with a 5-3 win over first-year Dwight Smith (Elmont, N.Y.).
Columbia's women's epee squad was holding its own. With spectators and other fencers rushing from one strip to another, trying not to miss a single touch, junior Rachel Rowe (CC-Gladstone, N.J.) beat Precious Eboigbe, 5-2. First-year Oriana Isaacson (CC-Los Angeles, Calif.) lost a 5-1 decision to Maria Larsson, but sophomore Morgan Midgley (CC-Tinton Falls, N.J.) came back to defeat Jasmine McGlade, 2-1, the bout curtailed by time limit.
However, the women's foil squad was not as proficient. Anne Austin defeated sophomore Magda Losonczy (CC-Bernardsville, N.J.), 5-4; All-Ivy Leaguer Chloe Stinetorf topped junior Kathleen Reckling (CC-White Plains, N.Y.), 5-1; and Harvard sophomore Emily Cross, the defending NCAA women's foil champion, beat first-year Kelsey Finkel (CC-New York, N.Y.), also by 5-1, breaking a 1-1 tie with four straight touches. The final touch gave Harvard the victory, 14-13.
"We fenced with spirit," head coach George Kolombatovich said, "but Harvard had better teams."
When the second session of the Ivy Championships begins at 11 a.m. next Sunday, February 12 at Columbia's Levien Gym, the Lions will be trying for victories over Princeton and Cornell, while hoping that Harvard can lose at least one match. The Crimson have yet to meet Penn, Brown, and Princeton.
Columbia's other matches:
BROWN The Columbia men won, 26-1, and the women were successful by 22-5, spoiling Brown's entry into Ivy League fencing.
YALE Men's sabre went 8-1 and foil was 7-2, making up for a 3-6 epee showing in an 18-9 victory. First-year Sherif Farrag (Bayonne, N.J.) recorded a notable victory when he beat Yale All-American Cory Werk, 5-2.
The women's team swamped Yale, as all three weapon squads won seven of nine. Emma Baratta was overwhelming, winning her three sabre bouts by 5-1, 5-0, 5-1.
PENN The women's team won six of nine in each of the first two rounds to take a commanding 12-6 lead over a formidable Quaker team, then won two of three in sabre in the third round to clinch the victory with 14 wins to Penn`s seven. The Quakers won five of six in epee and foil to make the final match score of 15-12 appear closer than it was.
The closeness of the men's match, however, was not deceptive. After Columbia had won six of nine in the first round, Penn did the same in the second to knot the match at 9-9.
Sabre then gave the Lions a huge boost at the start of the third round, winning all three bouts for a 12-9 team lead. Sophomore Alex Diacou (New York, N.Y.) won by 5-0, junior Alex Krul (Los Angeles, Calif.) was a 5-1 victor, and junior co-captain James Williams (Sacramento, Calif.) won 5-3.
Epee and foil then sewed up the match with a 4-2 record. The epeeists excelled, wining all three bouts -- Gannon-O'Gara over Alex Tozzo, 5-2; Czapanskiy over Noah Rohrer, 5-3; and Smith beating Ben Wieder, 5-1.
Men's Results
COLUMBIA 26, BROWN 1
Epee (Columbia, 9-0) -- Brown: Adrian Martin 0-3, Pat Culhane 0-3, Michael Malecz 0-3. Columbia: Gershom Gannon-O'Gara 3-0, Dwight Smith 3-0, Max Czapanskiy 3-0.
Foil (Columbia, 8-1) -- Brown: Nick Bender 1-2, Jeremy Moore 0-3, Jeremy Zietlin 0-3. Columbia: Scott Sugimoto 3-0, Luka Lazic 2-1, Calvin Chen 3-0.
Sabre (Columbia, 9-0) -- Brown: Dan Mahoney 0-3, Sam Levine 0-3, Jeremy Adler 0-3. Columbia: Alex Krul 3-0, James Williams 3-0, Alex Diacou 3-0.
COLUMBIA 16, PENN 11
Epee (Columbia, 6-3) -- Columbia: Gershom Gannon-O'Gara 2-1, Dwight Smith 2-1, Max Czapanskiy 2-1. Penn: Noah Rohrer 1-2, Alex Tozzo 1-2, Ben Wieder 1-2.
Foil (Penn, 6-3) -- Columbia: Scott Sugimoto 3-0, Luka Lazic 0-3, Calvin Chen 0-2, Sherif Ferrag 0-1. Penn: Ron Berkowsky 2-1, Corey Purcell 2-1, Mike Galligan 2-1.
Sabre (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Alex Krul 3-0, James Williams 3-0, Alex Diacou 1-2. Penn: Hal Emmer 0-3, Matthew Kolasa 1-2, Zachary Yeates 1-2.
COLUMBIA 18, YALE 9
Epee (Yale, 6-3) -- Columbia: Gershom Gannon-O'Gara 0-3, Dwight Smith 2-1, Max Czapanskiy 1-0, Lorenzo Casertano 0-2. Yale: John Beski 2-1, Steve Miller 1-2, Michael Pearce 3-0.
Foil (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Scott Sugimoto 2-1, Luka Lazic 2-1, Sherif Ferrag 3-0. Yale: Cory Werk 2-1, Ethan Wais 0-3, Chie-yu Lin 0-3.
Sabre (Columbia, 8-1) -- Columbia: Alex Krul 3-0, James Williams 3-0, Alex Diacou 2-1. Yale: Matt Chalken 0-2, Christopher Sinay 0-1, Christopher Peterson 1-2, Brad Broadhead 0-3.
HARVARD 16, COLUMBIA 11
Epee (Harvard, 6-3) -- Columbia: Gershom Gannon-O'Gara 0-3, Lorenzo Casertona 0-1, Dwight Smith 2-1, Max Czapanskiy 1-1. Harvard: Ian Lindblom 1-0, Julian Rose 1-2, Edward Sherrill 1-1, Benjamin Unger 3-0.
Foil (Harvard, 6-3) -- Columbia: Scott Sugimoto 1-2, Luka Lazic 1-2, Calvin Chen 1-2. Harvard: Sam Cross 2-1, Kal Itameri-Kinter 3-0, Enoch Woodhouse 1-2.
Sabre (Columbia, 5-4) -- Columbia: Alex Krul 0-3, James Williams 2-1, Alex Diacou 3-0. Harvard: Tim Hagamen 2-1, David Jakus 1-2, Daniel Sachs 1-2.
Women's Results
COLUMBIA 22, BROWN 5
Epee (Columbia, 6-3) -- Brown: Ruth Schneider 3-0, Christine Livoti 0-3, Christina Salvatore 0-3. Columbia: Morgan Midgley 2-1, Rachel Rowe 2-1, Oriana Isaacson 2-1.
Foil (Columbia, 9-0) -- Brown: Jen Hausmann 0-3, Nanette Milner 0-3, Allison Kwong 0-3. Columbia: Kathleen Reckling 3-0, Magda Losonczy 3-0, Kelsey Finkel 3-0.
Sabre (Columbia, 7-2) -- Brown: Olivia Partyka 0-3, Charlotte Gartenberg 1-2, Deborah Gorth 1-2. Columbia: Emma Baratta 3-0, Christian Robinson 1-2, Daria Schneider 3-0.
COLUMBIA 15, PENN 12
Epee (Penn, 5-4) -- Columbia: Morgan Midgley 1-2, Rachel Rowe 1-2, Oriana Isaacson 2-1. Penn: Holly Buechel 3-0, Jackie Schramm 0-2, Kristen Hughes 1-2, Ana Gutierrez-Colina 1-0.
Foil (Penn, 5-4) -- Columbia: Kathleen Reckling 2-1, Magda Losonczy 0-3, Kelsey Finkel 2-1. Penn: Zoya Abdikulova 2-1, Abby Emerson 2-1, Ilana Sinkin 1-2.
Sabre (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Emma Baratta 3-0, Danielle Gordet 1-2, Daria Schneider 3-0. Penn: Katelyn Sherry 0-3, Cassandra Frey 1-2, Cassandra Partyka 1-2.
COLUMBIA 21, YALE 6
Epee (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Morgan Midgley 2-1, Rachel Rowe 3-0, Oriana Isaacson 2-1. Yale: Tejas Srinivas 0-3, Isadora Botwinick 1-2, Anne Nguyen 1-2.
Foil (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Kathleen Reckling 2-1, Magda Losonczy 2-1, Kelsey Finkel 3-0. Yale: Alisa Mendelsohn 1-2, Diana Schawlowski 1-2, Jennifer Cohen 0-3.
Sabre (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Emma Baratta 3-0, Christian Robinson 1-2, Daria Schneider 3-0. Yale: Erin Frey 0-3, Carly Guss 1-2, Genevieve Tauxe 1-2.
HARVARD 14, COLUMBIA 13
Epee (Harvard, 5-4) -- Columbia: Morgan Midgley 2-1, Rachel Rowe 1-2, Oriana Isaacson 1-2. Harvard: Jasmine McGlade 2-1, Maria Larsson 2-1, Precious Eboigbe 1-2.
Foil (Harvard, 7-2) -- Columbia: Kathleen Reckling 1-2, Magda Losonczy 1-2, Kelsey Finkel 0-3. Harvard: Chloe Stinedorf 2-1, Anne Austin 3-0, Emily Cross 2-1.
Sabre (Columbia, 7-2) -- Columbia: Emma Baratta 3-0, Danielle Gordet 3-0, Daria Schneider 1-2. Harvard: Samantha Parker 0-3, Alexa Weingarden 1-2, Carolyn Wright 1-2.
Players Mentioned
