Fencing Begins 2015 Slate at Penn State Invitational
1/15/2015 1:37:00 PM | Fencing
NEW YORK – The Columbia fencing program's will compete for the first time in 2015 at the Penn State Invitational Saturday, Jan. 17. The Lions will face Haverford, North Carolina, Penn, Penn State and Temple. Fencing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.
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| SCHEDULE | |||||
| Strips | 8:30-9:30 a.m. | 9:45-10:45 a.m. | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | 1:15-2:15 p.m. | 2:30-3:30 p.m. |
| 1-5 6-10 11-15 |
Penn St. vs. Temple Columbia vs. UNC Penn vs. Haverford |
Penn St. vs. UNC Columbia vs. Penn Temple vs. Haverford |
Penn St. vs. Columbia UNC vs. Haverford Temple vs. Penn |
Penn St. vs. Penn Columbia vs. Haverford UNC vs. Temple |
Penn St. vs. Haverford UNC vs. Penn Columbia vs. Temple |
LAST TIME OUT
The Columbia fencing programs opened their 2014-15 seasons Friday night and kept their records perfect as they Lions downed all six of their opponents at the Columbia Invitational.
The men's team bested Stevens, NJIT and Florida, while the women also posted victories over the Highlanders and Gators and took down Fairleigh Dickinson.
Michael Costin competed against each opponent and only dropped a single bout to post an 8-1 mark in the sabre while John Avendano and Gabe Canaux recorded 5-1 ledgers in the foil and epee, respectively. On the women's strip a number of Lions went undefeated with Sara Taffel's 9-0 record in the foil leading the way. Taffel's weaponmates Jackie Dubrovich and Margaret Lu also notched unblemished marks as they each went 6-0. In the sabre, Brittin Boenning (5-0) went unbeaten, as did epeeist Natalie Gegan (3-0).
MORE READING: Fencing Opens Season with Unbeaten Records at Columbia Invitational
NORTH AMERICAN CUPS
Over the court of fourth months multiple Lions have competed in USA Fencing's North American Cups in preparation for their 2014-15 collegiate seasons as well as to earn spots on the Junior and Senior World Teams. Columbia has brought back 22 top eight medals to Morningside Heights including Margaret Lu's gold in the Division I Women's Foil in December and Sara Taffel's Junior Women's Foil gold in November.
More Reading: Fencing Brings Home 10 Top Eight Medals at January NAC | Fencing Picks Up One Gold, Two Bronze and 17 Top 32 Finishes at December NAC| Taffel Captures Gold, Angen Picks Up Bronze as Seven Lions Earn National Points at November NAC | Columbia Women's Foil Takes Silver and Bronze at October NAC
ABOUT HAVERFORD (M: 7-5)
Haverford sent fencers to the 35th Temple Open, the largest collegiate individual tournament in the country, to open its 2014-15 campaign. After the individual competition, the Fords have competed in three tournaments to boast a 7-5 record.
Team competition got underway for Haverford at the Vassar Invitational where it went 4-3 with wins over West Point, yeshiva, Lafayette and Hunter. The Fords hosted two home tournaments including the first Dan Arnstein'09 Invitational and the Tri-Co Invitational to cap off 2014. Haverford post a 1-2 mark at the Dan Arnstein'09 Invite before going undefeated at the Tri-Co Invitational.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (M: 0-4 | W: 0-4)
The Tar Heels sent fencers to two individual tournaments – Temple Open and Penn State Open – in the early weeks of the season, but took the strip as a team for the first time at the Ohio State Invitational Nov. 16. North Carolina faced tough competition in Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Princeton, but did not pick up a single team victory on the men's or women's side. Both Tar Heels squads bring 0-5 records to University Park, Pennsylvania, where they will face familiar competition.
ABOUT PENN (M: 1-3 | W: 3-1)
Penn opened its 2014-15 campaign at the Ohio State Invitational Nov. 16 where the Quakers men went 1-3 and the women finished 3-1. The men dropped 14-13 decisions to Princeton and Ohio State, fell to Notre Dame, 18-9, and picked up its first win of the season over North Carolina, 24-3. The women, meanwhile, downed the Tigers (16-11), the Tar Heels (18-9) and the Buckeyes (15-12), but fell to the Fighting Irish (5-22).
The Quakers closed 2014 with individuals competing at the Penn State Open.
ABOUT PENN STATE (M: 7-1 | W: 5-3)
After two weekend competitions and eight opponents, Penn State men's squad sits 7-1, while the Nittany Lion women are 5-3.
Penn State opened the year at the Ohio State Invitational where the men went 3-1, topping Princeton (16-11, Notre Dame (14-13) and North Carolina (20-7) and falling to Ohio State (23-4). The women on the other hand went 2-2 on the day winning against the Buckeyes (16-11) and the Tar Heels (17-10) and losing to the Fighting Irish (24-3) and the Tigers (24-3).
The Nittany Lion men went undefeated against Sacred Heart, Harvard, Vassar and NYU at the Sacred Heart Tradition Tournament to close 2014. At the same event, the women's team finished 3-1, only falling to Harvard.
ABOUT TEMPLE (W: 3-1)
The Owls opened their dual schedule at the Sacred Heart Traditional Tournament Dec. 7. Temple defeated Sacred Heart, NYU and Vassar, but fell to Harvard, to hold a 3-1 record. At the tournament, the Owls long-time coach, Nikki Franke, surpassed the 700-win mark for her career.
WHAT'S TO COME
An eventful weekend is in store for the Lions next weekend. Columbia will first compete at the St. John's Super Cup Saturday, Jan. 24 where it was face the hosts, the Red Storm, Harvard, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame. On Sunday, Jan. 25, the Lions will compete against Wayne State, the Buckeyes, North Carolina, Northwestern, the Fighting Irish and St. John's at the NYU Invitational.
Players Mentioned
