Schneider and Ross Combine for 26 Victories in Leading Women's Fencing to Strong Showing at St. John's

Sunday, January 24

Jamaica, N.Y. (St. John's)

10 a.m.

Columbia University

Ohio State (Men)

Schneider and Ross Combine for 26 Victories in Leading Women's Fencing to Strong Showing at St. John's

1/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Fencing

By: Columbia University Athletics

JAMAICA, N.Y. — All-Americans Daria Schneider and Nicole Ross combined for 26 of Columbia's 69 victories in leading the women's fencing team to three team triumphs in the grueling St. John's Invitational at Taffner Field House.

Behind Schneider and Ross, who each won 13 of 15 bouts, the Columbia women defeated the defending NCAA champion, Penn State, 14-13; fellow Big Ten standout Ohio State, 15-12; and Harvard in a non-Ivy League match, 18-9. The Lions narrowly missed a fourth victory when they lost to St. John's, 14-13, and also fell to Notre Dame, 18-9.

The Columbia men's team, trying to overcome the absences of several key fencers, was winless in five matches — losses to Penn State, 24-3; Notre Dame, 23-4; Ohio State, 21-6; and both Harvard and St. John's by 16-11 scores.

"I was very pleased with our women's team's fencing," head coach George Kolombatovich said. "Although hurt by injuries, they fenced very well against the strongest college teams in the nation."

Indeed, the field for the St. John's Invitational consisted of last season's top six finishers at the NCAA Men and Women's Championships, including Penn State (1), Notre Dame (2), Ohio State (3), Columbia (4), Harvard (5) and St. John's (6).

Ross, a junior foilist, and sophomore epeeist Neely Brandfield-Harvey both went 3-0 to lead the victory over Ohio State, while sophomore sabre fencer Sammy Roberts and two epeeists, senior Tess Finkel and junior Martyna Urbanowicz, contributed two victories apiece.

Schneider, Ross and Brandfield-Harvey each posted perfect 3-0 records in both the Harvard and St. John's matches, as first-years Lydia Kopecky (3-0 in epee) and Marie Rudnicki (2-0 in sabre) matched them for perfection against the Crimson. Finkel and sophomore Stephanie Aiuto were both 2-1 against the latter. Schneider and Ross turned in the only winning marks against Notre Dame, with Daria notching another 3-0 and Nicole going 2-1.

Foil and epee had great difficulty against Penn State's in the Lions' final match of the day, going a combined 7-11. But sabre came through with a sterling 7-2 mark, as Schneider went 3-0 and junior Jackie Jacobson matched her.

In a day of competition against collegiate fencing's top individuals, both Schneider and Jacobson posted major victories over three-time Penn State All-American Caitlin Thompson, both by 5-3 scores. With every bout crucial in a 14-13 match, Schneider refused to retire after suffering a painful injury when she was inadvertently hit on her non-fencing arm by Olivia Benedek. She completed that bout, winning 5-3, and then beat Jessica Russo, 5-4.

The Columbia men's team, which lost one key fencer to an injury in Saturday's matches, and another who is ineligible, struggled with a weakened lineup against the powerful field. Only two Lion men compiled winning records on the day, senior foilist Kurt Getz, who was 11-4, and senior Jeff Spear in sabre, 9-6. Senior Dwight Smith just missed that standard, going 7-8 in epee.

Just one weapon was better than .500 in a bout, men's foil going 5-4 against St. John's as Getz was 3-0, fellow senior Isaac Kim was 1-2, and first-year TK Kim (no relation) was 1-2.

The Lions return to action Wednesday February 3 in their only home meet of the season. It's Homecoming as Columbia hosts NYU, Sacred Heart and Vassar, beginning at 5 p.m.

St. John's Fencing Invitational
Taffner Field House
Sunday, January 24, 2010

Men's Fencing (0-5)
6-21 Ohio State, 11-16 St. John's, 11-16 Harvard, 4-23 Notre Dame, 3-24 Penn State
Leaders: Kurt Getz (F), 11-4; Jeff Spear (S), 9-6; Dwight Smith (E), 7-8
Note: Getz was 13-2 at the NYU Invitational Saturday, not 12-3 as previously reported

Women's Fencing (3-2)
15-12 Ohio State, 13-14 St. John's, 18-9 Harvard, 9-18 Notre Dame, 14-13 Penn State
Leaders: Nicole Ross (F), 13-2; Daria Schneider (S), 13-2; Neely Brandfield-Harvey (E), 10-5; Lydia Kopecky (E), 7-5; Sammy Roberts (S), 6-7; Tess Finkel (E), 4-2