Lions Win Four Medals at Northeast Regionals

Sunday, March 8

Ithaca, N.Y./Barton Hall

9:00 AM

Columbia University

NCAA Northeast Regional

Photo by: Mike McLaughlin

3/8/2020 8:58:00 PM | Fencing

Final Results

Defending national champion Lions claim three medals including two Golds in men’s sabre (Christopher Walker) and women’s epee (Giana Vierheller), nine Lions finish in top-4 of their respective weapon competitions.

ITHACA, N.Y.—Led by Gold Medal performances from Christopher Walker (men's sabre) and Giana Vierheller (women's epee), Columbia-Barnard Fencing put together a successful 2020 NCAA Northeast Regional as nine Lions placed within the top-4 fencers in their respective weapon competitions Sunday at Cornell's Barton Hall. Final results from the Northeast Regional are posted here.

Heading into the eight-hour, 18-team event, Columbia-Barnard's goal was to automatically qualify the maximum 12 fencers for the NCAA Championships (maximum of two fencers in each weapon, per gender). Columbia Head Coach Michael Aufrichtig said the Lions qualified 11 fencers today.

"When you set your standard as the best, you are disappointed when you do not achieve it," Aufrichtig said. "However, we have 11 strong fencers that could win a national championship. I know they will be bringing the best they can in Detroit."

Making the biggest jump from pre-event seedings was Vierheller, who entered the competition as the No. 9 seed in women's epee. She claimed the Gold Medal after advancing through the first two pools, then caught fire in the final pool as she won 10 of her 11 bouts and tallied a plus-19 touch differential (42-23). Vierheller ended the day with a 17-6 overall record. Defending national women's epee champion Anne Cebula (16-7) placed fourth, Karolina Nixon (14-9) finished in seventh place, and LeeAnn Choy took 10^th. Those four Lions all advanced to the finals.

In women's sabre, Daniella Timofeyev took fourth place after claiming six of her 11 final round bouts. Violet Michel placed 11^th with a 13-10 overall record on the afternoon.

In women's foil, Ester Schreiber took fourth place with an 18-5 overall record and 7-4 final pool record. Natalie Minarik (seventh place) and Rachel Zhang (eighth place) both advanced to the finals.

Columbia dominated men's sabre competition with its depth as three fencers placed within the top four finishers. Christopher Walker claimed the men's sabre Gold Medal after winning nine of his 11 final pool bouts. He won a 5-1 bout vs. teammate Josef Cohen and registered a +22 touch differential (50-22) to claim the title. Cohen finished second and took the Silver Medal with nine victories and a plus-15 (49-30) touch differential in the final pool, and Andrew Doddo took fourth with eight wins and a plus-16 touch differential (46-30).

All four Columbia men's foilists advanced to the finals as Sam Moelis earned the Bronze Medal with a plus-13 touch differential (46-33) and 17-6 overall record. Sidarth Kumbla (15-8 overall) was right behind Moelis in a fourth place performance. Moelis and Kumbla had the disadvantage of fencing in the same second round pool. Ashton Daniel (ninth place) and Andrew Zheng (11^th place) also turned in solid performances.

Two Lions advanced to the men's epee finals competition. Cedric Mecke (10^th place) and Alan Temiryaev (12^th place) were the two highest finishers, while defending national runner-up Teddy Lombardo took 19^th place.

Sunday's Northeast Regional marks the start of postseason fencing for the highly ranked Lions' squads. The women hold the No. 1 spot in the College Fencing 360 Coaches Poll, while the men are No. 2, just one point behind Harvard. The rankings bode well for the Lions, who are beginning their quest for a second national title in as many years and fourth national championship in the last six years.

Today's NCAA Northeast Regional competition helps determine the qualifying fencers for the NCAA Division I National Championship, which will take place in the TCF Center (formerly the Cobo Center) in downtown Detroit, Mich. from March 19-22. Columbia hopes to send 12 fencers to Detroit. Only Columbia's top two fencers for each of the six weapons (three men's and three women's) can qualify for the National Championships. In the end, the qualifiers are determined by a formula based on 60 percent weight on regional bouts and 40 percent weight on regular season results. No qualifiers are official until the NCAA's announcement on Wednesday, March 11 when NCAA Championship selections are posted.

COLUMBIA'S NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL RESULTS
Sunday, March 8, 2020 | Barton Hall | Cornell University | Ithaca, N.Y.

Women's Sabre (9 fencers qualify for nationals)
4. Daniella Timofeyev (12-11 overall) 6-5 in final pool, 3-3, 3-3
11. Violet Michel (13-10 overall) 3-8 in final pool, 5-1, 5-1
17. Maria Chart (6-6 overall) 2-4, 4-2
20. Ally Wolf (6-10 overall) 1-5, 3-3, 2-2

Women's Foil (8 fencers qualify for nationals)
4. Ester Schreiber (18-5 overall) 7-4 in final pool, 5-1, 6-0
7. Natalie Minarik (15-8 overall) 5-6 in final pool, 5-1, 5-1
8. Rachel Zhang (12-11 overall) 4-7 in final pool, 4-2, 4-2

Women's Epee (9 fencers qualify for nationals)
1. Giana Vierheller, Gold Medal (17-6 overall), 10-1 in final pool, 3-3, 4-2
4. Anne Cebula (16-7 overall) 7-4 in final pool, 4-2, 5-1
7. Karolina Nixon (14-9 overall) 5-6 in final pool, 4-2, 5-1
10. LeeAnn Choy (9-14 overall) 3-8 in final pool, 3-3, 3-3
14. Ariana Joy Mangano (12-4 overall) 3-3, 5-1, 4-0

Men's Sabre (9 fencers qualify for nationals)
1. Christopher Walker, Gold Medal (17-6 overall) 9-2 in final pool, 4-2, 4-2
2. Josef Cohen, Silver Medal (18-5 overall) 9-2 in final pool, 4-2, 5-1
4. Andrew Doddo (19-3 overall) 8-3 in final pool, 5-1, 6-0
23. Dawson Sieradzky, 2-4

Men's Foil (8 fencers qualify for nationals)
3. Sam Moelis, Bronze Medal (17-6 overall), 7-4 in final pool, 5-1, 5-1
4. Sidarth Kumbla (15-8 overall) 7-4 in final pool, 3-3, 5-1
9. Ashton Daniel (13-10 overall) 4-7 in final pool, 4-2, 5-1
11. Andrew Zheng (12-11 overall) 3-8 in final pool, 4-2, 5-1

Men's Epee (8 fencers qualify for nationals)
10. Cedric Mecke (11-12 overall) 5-6 in final pool, 3-3, 3-3
12. Alan Temiryaev (13-10 overall) 4-7 in final pool, 5-1, 4-2
19. Teddy Lombardo (6-6 overall) 1-5, 5-1
38. Sacha Schouker (1-3 overall) 1-3