CLEVELAND, Ohio-Columbia Fencing claimed its 16th national championship title and its first since winning back to back titles in 2015 and 2016 Sunday at the NCAA National Fencing Championships at Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. 
 
In addition to the team titles, Columbia also took home two individual women's titles. Junior Anne Cebula (BC) earned the epee gold and sophomore Sylvie Binder claimed foil. The Lions entered Sunday's competition on top of the leaderboard, four points ahead of Penn State and eight ahead of Notre Dame.  
 
Columbia captured its third national title since 2015. This is the first time in program history that Columbia has won both the national championship team title along with two individual championship titles.  This is also the first ever women's individual epee title for the Lions.

The Lions entered the weekend ranked No. 2 nationally behind Notre Dame.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Columbia took the lead early and never trailed over the four days in Cleveland. The women's fencers entered Sunday's competition with passion and grace, looking to build on their three day lead.  Columbia had 48 bouts remaining today, and the women won 20 out of 24 bouts in the first round fenced today.
 
At the end of the four day event, the Lions had accumulated 178 team points, a +220 indicator, and 1100 total touches scored over five rounds of fencing.  Only one team point separated the next two schools, Penn State with 166 and Notre Dame with 165 in the standings.  
 
ON FRIDAY:
The Columbia men finished their team and individual competition on Friday.  The earned men's team points (90) carried over into the women's competition, to combine for the overall team score for the title.   
 
First year Teddy Lombardo finished second overall in the men's epee individual after taking down Alexander Sless of UIW in the semifinal round.  Foilist Sidarth Kumbla finished tied for third overall after falling in the semifinal bout to Notre Dame's Axel Kiefer.
 
WOMEN'S EPEE RECAP:
On the epee strips, Columbia found itself in the middle of the leaderboard after the first three rounds of competition.  First Year, Karolina Nixon, held held onto the No. 8 spot, and Anne Cebula followed in No. 13.  But the Lions put on the pressure today and truly performed.  
 
Cebula clinched the No. 3 spot on the epee leaderboard with a 15-8 record for the preliminary rounds. Karolina Nixon narrowly missed the top four cutoff, winning 14 of her 23 bouts but was ranked fifth due to her indicator.  Cebula's top-three finish moved her into the semifinal bouts where she faced Andrea Rizzi of St. John's.
 
In the semifinal, Cebula came out strong and had a 6-4 lead over Rizzi going into the second period of the 15 touch bout.  In the final seconds, Cebula earns the 15th touch and a trip to the epee finals. Cebula faced the No. 2 seed Amanda Sirico of Notre Dame in the championship bout.  The finals began with two periods of no action, followed by a one minute frenzy of touches.  Cebula prevailed, marking a 5-3 win over Sirico. After the winning touch, her teammates rushed the stage to celebrate and congratulate the Junior.  
 
WOMEN'S FOIL RECAP:
Columbia's foil squad has been nothing but consistent over the entire season. During the fourth and fifth preliminary rounds today, Sophomore, Sylvie Binder, and Senior, Iman Blow, worked together to be the best performing foil team of the championship. 
 
 Binder topped the individual leaderboard with a overall record of 19-3, and an indicator of +52.  Blow was not far behind her teammate, finding herself third overall marking 18-4 for the the five rounds and a +39.  
 
The strong performance landed the duo in the semifinal rounds. Binder took took an early lead in her semifinal bout against Amita Berthier of Notre Dame. Despite dealing with equipment issues and a quick bodycord change, was able to earn a trip to the round with a 15-12 decision over Berthier. 
 
Iman Blow faced off against Katarzyna Lachman from St. John's in the second semifinal face-off for women's foil.  Blow was down early in the bout, but found her rhythm just into the second period.  The Lion was able to pull back and tie up the bout at 14-14, but fell just short to the Red Storm fencer, 15-14. 
 
Binder returned to the strip for the final foil bout against Katarzyna Lachman of St. John's. women's foil title with a 15-8 performance over Lachman.  This is the second year in a row that Columbia has captured the women's individual championship.  Iman Blow captured the trophy last year. 
 
 
WOMEN'S SABRE RECAP:
The Lion's sabre squad, led by first year duo Nora Burke and Daniella Timofeyev, were able to make adjustments during today's rounds earning them each a 5-3 record for rounds four and five. Burke's combined 13-10 performance over the five rounds earned her the No. 10 spot overall and third team All-American honors. Timofeyev finished 17th overall with a 9-14 record. 
 
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Women's Final Results:
Epee:
1- Anne Cebula - Overall Individual NCAA Champion - 1st team All-American (15-7, +17) (BC)
5- Karolina Nixon - 2nd team All-American (14-9, +9) (CC)
Foil:
1- Sylvie Binder - Overall Individual NCAA Champion - 1st team All-American (19-3, +53) (CC)
T3- Iman Blow 1st team All-American (18-4, +39) (CC)
Sabre:
10- Nora Burke-3rd team All-American (13-10, +3) (CC)
17- Daniella Timofeyev (9-14, -9) (CC)
 
Men's Final Results:
Epee:
2- Teddy Lombardo- 1st team All-American (16-7) (CC)
16- Mick Yamanaka(10-13) (CC)
Foil:
T3- Sidarth Kumbla- 1st team All-American (19-4) (CC)
9- Sam Moelis- 3rd team All-American (13-10) (CC)
Sabre:
5- Calvin Liang- 2nd team All-American (16-7, +31) (CC)
6- Andrew Doddo- 2nd team All-American (16-7, +27) (CC)
 
 
Total Bouts Won Per Weapon:
Men's Foil- 32
Men's Epee- 26
Men's Sabre- 32
Women's Foil- 37
Women's Epee- 26
Women's Sabre- 22