Columbia
Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, St. John's, Wayne State
Fencers Open Dual-Match Season with Stunning 9-1 Tally
1/28/2007 8:00:00 PM | Fencing
The Columbia women's team, ranked second in the nation, defeated top-ranked Notre Dame, 15-12, as well as Northwestern, St. John's, Ohio State and Wayne State, a superb five-team sweep.
The men's team nearly matched the women, as it dispatched Notre Dame, St. John's, Wayne State and the newly-revived Stevens Tech. The men suffered its only disappointment in the NYU Duals when they were edged by Ohio State, 14-13.
“This was a great, great day,” head coach George Kolombatovich said. “We served notice to the rest of the fencing world that Columbia will be a program to be reckoned with this year. I'm thrilled.”
Among the most significant results were Columbia's double victories over Notre Dame. The Irish have long regarded the NYU Duals as their private fencing playground, but Columbia captured victories over both the men and women's teams by identical 15-12 scores.
The women rode the sabre squad to victory, as it won seven of nine while the other two weapons were a combined 8-10. Junior All-American Emily Jacobson went 3-0, while junior co-captain Dani Gordet and sophomore Daria Schneider each won two of three. The Lion men showed remarkable balance in the face of strong Fighting Irish talent, winning five of nine in all three weapons.
The men edged their crosstown rivals from St. John's, 14-13, thanks to a brilliant performance from their 6-3 epee squad. Tied with the Red Storm at 3-3 going into the final round, men's epee swept the round, winning all three to sew up the victory. Three sophomores, Max Czapanskiy, Lorenzo Casertano, and Dwight Smith got a big boost from first-year Brent Kelly.
The women's squad also vanquished St. John's, 15-12. Once again, much of the credit went to the epee team, which was 7-2. First-year Tess Finkel was 3-0, with seniors Alexie Rubin and Rachel Rowe supplying the rest of the scoring.
Columbia opened the day, which began at 8 a.m., with victories over Stevens Tech and Northwestern.
The latter was a major feat for the Columbia women, who had lost to the Wildcats last season. This year's 17-10 win was fueled by sabre's 8-1 mark. “We fenced a solid match,” Kolombatovich said. “I am very, very pleased.”
Formerly a strong team, Stevens Tech has revived its men's program, and took a giant step by entering into such high-level competition. Columbia beat the Ducks, 26-1.
Detroit's Wayne State was Columbia's next opponent. The men won, 21-6, as foil was 9-0, while the women got 8-1 performances from both foil and sabre in a 20-7 victory.
The Columbia women closed their day at the NYU Duals with an emotional 15-12 win over Ohio State. The Lion sabre struggled, going 5-4, as did epee, 4-5. But women's foil came through, posting a 6-3 record which Kolombatovich termed “the real key to the match”.
Senior co-captain Kathleen Reckling was 2-1, as was junior Magda Losonczy, daughter of 1970's NCAA men's sabre runner-up Tom Losonczy. Coming through in the clutch was senior Cassidy Luitjen, who competed for the first time since her sophomore season. She, too, was 2-1 against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State dealt the Columbia men their only setback of the day, by just one point, 14-13. Epee was a hard-fought 5-4, but sabre and foil were each 4-5.
“Ohio State won a number of 5-4 bouts,” the coach said. “Most of them could have gone either way.”
Next Saturday, February 3, Columbia marks its only home appearance of the season with a revival of the Varsity vs. Alumni Meet in University Gym, beginning at 12 noon. Three days later, on Feb. 6, the Lions return to NYU, to face the host Violets, Sacred Heart and Vassar in a trio of dual meets, beginning at 5 p.m.
