Aufrichtig Welcomes 2018 Recruiting Class

NEW YORK- September marks not only the start of the school year, but also the introduction of all of the new student-athletes in Morningside Heights. For the fencing program, Coach Michael Aufrichtig welcomes six women and six men to the roster.

"We are very excited to welcome this year's incoming class to our championship program. They all come in with the knowledge of our winning legacy and the attitude to achieve greatness as a team," Aufrichtig said. "Together we will continue striving for growth in pursuit of our program's 16^th NCAA Team Championship Title."

Teddy Lombardo
Mount Krisco, N.Y. | Epee

Lombardo is an Epee fencer who was named to the 2018 USA World Junior Team, and is ranked fourth in the USA in Junior competition. In addition to his success this past year, Lombardo has consistently placed in the top ten in competition during his high school career including a Silver Medal at the Bratislava Cadet World Cup.

Cedric Mecke
New York, N.Y. | Epee

Mecke is another fencer joining Columbia from New York City. He has ranked among the top eight at the Division I Summer Nationals in 2018, and has marked a third place finish the Cadet Summer Nationals in 2016. Mecke was a member of the team that placed second at the Grenoble Cadet World Cup and First place in team at the 2017 Junior Olympics.

Karolina Nixon
Los Angeles, Calif. | Epee

Nixon comes from a long line of Ivy League athletes. Her mother, a rhythmic gymnast, and father, a tennis player, both attended Princeton. Nixon's success in fencing includes a first-place finish at the 2018 Junior NAC in Virginia Beach, a seventh-place finish at Division I Championships and a second-place finish in the 2018 Senior team competition at NAC in St. Louis.

In addition to her success on the strip, Nixon also has a strong interest in fashion, art, and modeling. She auditioned for the television show Project Runway Junior.

Valentina Bos
Basel, Switzerland | Epee

Valentina Bos joins the squad from Switzerland. Bos finished in 12^th place at the 2017 Junior World Championships. She also has found major success in Europe, including being a part of the winning Senior team at the Swiss Championship in 2016 and 15th place at the 2016 Junior European Championships. Bos was born in the Netherlands.

Natalie Minarik
Glen Oaks, N.Y. | Foil

Minarik comes to Columbia after winning a Bronze Medal at the 2017 Cadet World Championships in Bulgaria and the Silver Medal at the 2017 Division I Championships. She will be studying Political Science at Columbia College.

James Bourtis
Rochester, N.Y. | Foil

Joining the Lions from Rochester, N.Y., James Bourtis has ranked 24th on the National Junior points list in 2017. In addition to his national success, he has received the Achievement Award at Rochester Fencing his sophomore and junior year of high school.

Daniella Timofeyev
Antelope, Calif | Sabre
Timofeyev hails from California where she fenced for Premier Fencing Academy. She has consistently placed in the top ten at Division I and junior NACs. She is currently ranked 12^th in the US Junior Point rankings.

In the classroom, Timofeyev was named valedictorian of her class at Freedom Christian High School, and plans to pursue a career in medicine after leaving Columbia.

Nora Burke
New York, N.Y. | Sabre

Burke hails from New York City, and began fencing at the Manhattan Fencing Center. She joins the Columbia squad after ranking in the top 32 at the Seoul Grand Prix, and a third-place finish at the Division I Nationals this year. She is currently ranked 8^th in the US Junior Point rankings.

Brian Szeto
Weston, Mass. | Sabre

Szeto was born in Hong Kong, but graduated from Weston High School in Massachusetts. He is ranked among the top 16 in Cadet for both the North American Cup and Junior Olympics.

Anika Tsapatsaris
Ridgewood, N.J. | Sabre

Tsapatsaris joins the team from Ridgewood High School in New Jersey. She started the fencing team at her high school during her sophomore year. Before Ridgewood, Tsapatsaris began fencing for Bergen Fencing Club in 2009.

In addition to competing for Ridgewood and Bergen Fencing Club, Tsapatsaris is a sabre fencer for the Greek National Sabre Team, and has competed on the Junior World team and the European Cadet Circuit. In 2018, Tsapatsaris placed 13th at the NJSIAA State Championships.

Jack Lin
Chappaqua, N.Y. | Epee

Jack Lin is an Epee fencer from Long Island, N.Y., USA Fencing has named Lin to the All-American and All-Academic first team last year. Lin has seen success through the past few years including a tie for eighth place at the Division IA event at Boston Fencing Club.

In addition to his success in fencing, Lin was a National AP Scholar, Siemens Competition semifinalist and National Merit Commended Scholar.

Ben Sherwin
Montclair, N.J. | Epee

Currently, Sherwin holds a 7-1 district individual record after his 2018 season. In addition to his success in individual competition, Sherwin led his squad to win the District Championship.

Sherwin comes from a long line of Columbia alumni. Both of his parents, as well as his grandfather have received degrees from the University. In addition to fencing, Sherwin also ran cross country in high school.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Valentina Bos

James Bourtis

Nora Burke

Jack Lin

Teddy Lombardo

Cedric Mecke

Natalie Minarik

Karolina Nixon

Ben Sherwin

Brian Szeto

Daniella Timofeyev

Anika Tsapatsaris

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