Dubrovich, Speta Make Final Four As Lions Remain In Top Spot
3/25/2016 9:02:00 PM | Fencing
DAY ONE RESULTS | DAY TWO RESULTS
WALTHAM, MASS. - Led behind Jackie Dubrovich (2nd Place) and Mason Speta (T-3rd Place) who were able to earn a spot in the Final Four, the Columbia fencing team will head into the men's portion of competition at the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships on Saturday holding on to the top spot on the team leaderboard with 86 points.
The Lions finished the women's portion of competition just two points ahead of second-place Notre Dame (84) and only four points above Ivy League rival Princeton (82) after leading the field with 565 touches scored and a +122 touch indicator.
Dubrovich led the way for the Lions, earning the top seed in the Final Four after putting together a 21-2 overall record in pool play. The beginning of the Final Four was no easy task for the Ivy League champion, however, as she took on Alanna Goldie of Ohio State in the opening bout.
With Goldie holding a 10-6 advantage, Dubrovich began to battle back as she pulled away with four of the next five touches to cut the deficit to only one. After a pair of reviews put Goldie ahead, 14-13, Dubrovich was able to respond with a behind-the-back attack to tie it before taking advantage of an exposed Goldie on the ground to secure the final touch in dramatic fashion and take a 15-14 come-from-behind victory to earn a spot in the women's foil finals against Eleanor Harvey of Ohio State.
Harvey came out to a quick pace in the championship bout, taking seven of the first nine points before Dubrovich would rally back with four unanswered to cut the lead down to one. From there, the back-and-forth battle continued as Dubrovich was able to tie things up at 10-10, but Harvey pulled away to take a 15-10 victory and give Dubrovich the silver medal.
The senior foilest finished the weekend tied with Harvey with a field-leading 21 bout victories and a +67 touch differential. This marks the second NCAA Runner-Up finish for Dubrovich after taking the silver in 2013 while she took the bronze in 2014.
Fellow Columbia foilest, Sara Taffel, finished just outside the Final Four as she took fifth place overall thanks to 17 bout victories over the last two day and combined for a +34 indicator for the Lions.
In women's epee, it was Mason Speta who represented the Lions in the Final Four as the No. 3 seed, squaring off against the No. 2 seed, Jessie Gottlesman-Radanovich of Penn State, in the opening round.
With all the Columbia contingency looking on, Speta battled with Gottesman-Radanovich as they exchanged touches nearly all the way through the bout to keep it tied. With Gottesman-Radanovich leading, 12-10, Speta was able to take the next two touches to pull within one but the Penn State junior was able to go on and claim a 15-12 victory before eventually taking the gold medal with a 15-10 win over Charlene Liu (Princeton) in the championship.
Katie Angen was able to secure 18th place for the Lions in women's epee after earning 10 victories over the last two days as well.
It was Lena Johnson who led the way in women's sabre for the Lions, taking ninth place after 13 bout victories and a +6 touch indicator while Anastasia Ivanoff claimed 13th with 11 wins and a +5.
With their 86 points, the Lions will head into the beginning of men's competition on Saturday, March 26, holding on to the top spot as they send forth the maximum six fencers to look to defend the title.
