COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Columbia Fencing swept all 15 of its dual matches at the 2021 Western Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at the Air Force Academy.
 
The Lions competed in 11 dual matches on Saturday and four dual matches on Sunday at the Academy Indoor Intercollegiate Tennis Courts, located inside Air Force's Cadet Gymnasium. The Lions men's and women's teams defeated Stanford, North Carolina, Incarnate Word, host Air Force, UC San Diego, and Northwestern (women's) on Saturday, then turned around and won matches against Brandeis and NJIT before flying back to New York City on Sunday.
 
Columbia's women's squad finished 8-0 in dual matches, while the men's team went 7-0. Overall, Columbia outscored its opponents 333-74 on the weekend.
 
Columbia opened the weekend against Stanford and rallied for a 22-5 women's win and 19-8 men's victory. Combining epee and foil, the women clinched the win with a 14-4 advantage before finishing the match with an 8-1 sabre win. Earning 3-0 marks were Mina Yamanaka and Valentina Bos in epee, Zander Rhodes in foil, and Daniella Timofeyev and Vera Kong in sabre. The men were equally impressive as the Lions held a 7-2 advantage in foil and 6-3 wins in epee and sabre. Teddy Lombardo notched three wins in epee, Ashton Daniel went 3-0 in foil, and Christopher Walker finished 3-0 in sabre.
 
The closest match for Columbia's men on the weekend was against North Carolina as the Lions registered a hard-fought 15-12 victory over the Tar Heels. Columbia held a 5-4 advantage in each of the weapons. In epee, Teddy Lombardo and Alan Temiryaev won two bouts each with Temiryaev getting the clinching win. In foil, Ashton Daniel and Joon Paik won back-to-back 5-4 bouts to clinch a come-from-behind 5-4 win. Christopher Walker won the decisive point in sabre for Columbia's 15^th point. Columbia's women's team defeated North Carolina 25-2.
 
The Lions followed the opening matches with a 25-2 women's win and 22-5 men's victory over Incarnate Word, then took on host Air Force (24-3 women's win, 23-4 men's win). Next up was UC San Diego and the Lions followed suit with a 25-2 women's victory and 23-6 men's win.
 
Columbia's women's squad concluded Saturday with a 23-4 win over Northwestern. The Lions swept sabre with a 9-0 advantage and combined for an 8-1 win in foil. Rhodes and Sylvie Binder both posted an undefeated 3-0 record in foil, and Timofeyev, Nora Burke and Chloe Gouhin each won all three bouts in sabre.
 
On Sunday, Columbia began the day with a 27-0 women's shutout and 22-5 men's wins over Brandeis. They followed it up with back-to-back 19-8 victories over NJIT, a team they will face again this Friday. Against NJIT, Columbia's men dropped the epee competition 5-4 but won sabre 8-1 and foil 7-2. Sidarth Kumbla won three foil bouts while Walker and Robert Vidovszky each claimed three sabre bouts. Ariana Mangano led the women with three epee wins.
 
Columbia gets back into action on Friday evening at Dodge Fitness Center when it hosts the four-team Columbia Invitational. The Lions will take on Stevens, NJIT, and Johns Hopkins. A full schedule will be posted at a later date.
 
WESTERN INVITATIONAL RESULTS (COLUMBIA ONLY)
Colorado Springs, Colo. | Academy Indoor Intercollegiate Tennis Courts at Cadet Gymnasium
 
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021
Women: Columbia 22, Stanford 5
Men: Columbia 19, Stanford 8
Women: Columbia 25, North Carolina 2
Men: Columbia 15, North Carolina 12
Women: Columbia 25, Incarnate Word 2
Men: Columbia 22, Incarnate Word 5
Women: Columbia 24, Air Force 3
Men: Columbia 23, Air Force 4
Women: Columbia 25, UC San Diego 2
Men: Columbia 23, UC San Diego 6
Women: Columbia 23, Northwestern 4
 
Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021
Women: Columbia 27, Brandeis 0
Men: Columbia 22, Brandeis 5
Women: Columbia 19, NJIT 8
Men: Columbia 19, NJIT 8