PHILADELPHIA — Columbia women's fencing's Zander Rhodes (foil), Tierna Oxenreider (epee) and Chloe Gouhin (sabre) won their respective events to highlight the Lions' performance at the Temple Open Saturday. The Columbia men also secured five medals Sunday in in all three weapons. Colby Harley (sabre) and Zachary Binder (foil) earned silver medals, while Justin Haddad (epee), Jackson McBride (sabre) and Andrew Zheng (foil) claimed bronze, respectively.
 
In total, the Lions had 34 fencers compete at the first collegiate event of the 2022-23 campaign.
 
"Our standard at Columbia fencing is very high," head coach Michael Aufrichtig said. "We had some incredible results and we had some that we know could be stronger. We look forward towards working together to continue our growth during this season."
 
After earning the top seed in pool play, Rhodes' rolled through to the quarterfinals and out-touched her opponents by a combined score of 45-8. In the semifinals, Rhodes bested Penn State's Samantha Cantantan and then out-dueled Sabrina Cho, 15-11, to reach the top of the podium.
 
Oxenreider picked up the No. 2 slot in her event and met up with teammate Yana Botvinnik in the quarterfinals, where she edged out her fellow Lion for the right to compete for a medal. After a 15-10 decision in the semis, the first-year defeated Temple's Margherita Calderaro to complete her first collegiate competition successfully.
 
Gouhin, a sophomore at Barnard College, marched through her first two bouts before facing Tamar Gordon in the quarterfinals. Experience won in a 15-10 decision over the first-year to continue in the main draw. Gouhin had her closest matchup of the day in the semifinals against North Carolina's Sophia Kovacs but pulled out a 15-12 victory to set up the finals against Penn's Sarah Hilado. Gouhin closed out the day with a rousing 15-9 triumph to make it three golds for the Columbia women on the day.
 
Haddad won his first two bouts in the bracket by 15-8 counts. Two more wins followed for Haddad before he was edged, 15-13, in the semifinals to tie for a bronze medal.
 
In men's foil, Binder and Joon Paik worked through the field to set up a quarterfinal matchup between the teammates. Binder came out on top and then slipped by Penn's Blake Broszus, 15-13, to reach the last stage. It was nearly an all Columbia final with Zheng breezing through the bottom of the bracket until he was tripped up by Bryce Louie, who also defeated Binder in the final.
 
First-year Colby Harley matched Binder's finish in sabre, picking up three lopsided wins to reach the semifinals. Standing in his way was McBride to guarantee another top-four finish. Harley slipped by his fellow Lion before dropping a 15-10 decision to Penn's Simon Kushkov.
 
Columbia is back in action next weekend at the Western Invitational, hosted by Air Force, from November 5-6 in Colorado Springs.
 
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on Twitter and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.