Thursday, March 24
South Bend, Ind./Castellan Family Fencing Center
9:00 a.m. every morning
Columbia University
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Mike McLaughlin
Lions to Compete at 2022 NCAA Fencing Championship
3/22/2022 6:00:00 AM | Fencing
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Maximum 12 Lions to travel to South Bend, Ind. in four-day event.
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The NCAA maximum 12 Columbia-Barnard fencers are headed to Indiana to compete in the 2022 NCAA Fencing Championships Thursday, March 24 through Sunday, March 27 at Notre Dame's Castellan Family Fencing Center.
The Lions are sending the maximum number of qualifiers, 12, to the strips to face off against the nation's best during the four-day event. The NCAA Championship features fencers from 27 different schools. Columbia is one of four schools with the maximum 12 fencers competing: Notre Dame, Princeton, and Ohio State.
Fans can follow along with live results from the NCAA Championships at this link. A complete NCAA Championship schedule is posted at this link.
Fans unable to attend the event can watch the semifinal bouts, championship bouts and award ceremonies live on ESPN+ (Women's Broadcast: Friday, March 25, 1-5 p.m. ET; Men's Broadcast: Sunday, March 27, 1-5 p.m. ET). Cary Collins will handle production, while Tony Simeone and David Willette will handle play-by-play duties. A complete edited NCAA Championship recap will premiere on live national television on ESPNU on Thursday, April 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The NCAA Championship includes individual events in each of the six weapons (men's epee, men's foil, men's sabre, women's epee, women's foil, and women's sabre). Fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After round-robin, top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners competing to determine first and second places, and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place. An institution's place in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes during round-robin competition.
ABOUT COLUMBIA
Columbia enters NCAA Championship Week after capturing seven medals at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Teddy Lombardo won the men's epee Gold Medal, Sylvie Binder (women's foil), Justin Haddad (men's epee), and Vera Kong (women's sabre) claimed Silver Medals, while Ariana Mangano (women's epee), Zander Rhodes (women's foil), and Nora Burke (women's sabre) registered Bronze Medals.
During the regular season, Columbia's men's team claimed its seventh in the last eight Ivy League championships with a perfect 4-0 record and finished 27-5 overall in dual matches, while the women's squad finished tied for second at the Ivy League Round Robins with a 4-2 record and also went 28-6-1 overall in dual matches. The Columbia Men are currently ranked No. 2 in U.S. Fencing Coaches Poll, while the women are also tabbed at No. 3 in the nation.
COLUMBIA QUALIFIES MAXIMUM 12 FENCERS FOR NCAAS
Columbia-Barnard is one of four schools in the nation who will send the NCAA maximum of 12 student-athletes to the NCAA Fencing Championships. Those schools include Columbia-Barnard, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Ohio State. The Lions are one of 27 institutions which will be represented at this year's fencing championships. Columbia qualified the maximum 12 fencers for the seventh time in the last eight years.
Earning bids for the Lions include Ariana Mangano (women's epee), Valentina Bos (women's epee), Sylvie Binder (women's foil), Zander Rhodes (women's foil), Nora Burke (women's sabre), Vera Kong (women's sabre), Teddy Lombardo (men's epee), Justin Haddad (men's epee), Ashton Daniel (men's foil), Sidarth Kumbla (men's foil), Josef Cohen (men's sabre), and Christopher Walker (men's sabre).
Columbia's lineup features a unique mix of veterans and newcomers. Kumbla qualified for the fourth time, Binder, the 2019 women's foil national champion is in her third NCAA appearance, while Nora Burke, Teddy Lombardo, the 2019 NCAA men's epee individual runner-up, and Christopher Walker have qualified for their second NCAA Championships. The other seven fencers are all making their first NCAA Championship appearance.
A total of 17 Lions qualified for the NCAA Championships but due to personnel restrictions, the Lions can only take 12.
LIONS VYE FOR 17TH NATIONAL TITLE
Historically, the Columbia Fencing program has experienced the most success of any program nationally. Columbia has won the most NCAA team championships (16), the most individual NCAA titles (38), and the most total NCAA championships (team, individual, squad and combined) of any kind (60). The Lions have claimed NCAA titles in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2015, 2016, and 2019.
Columbia has won three of the last five NCAA Fencing Championships that the team has competed in as the Lions won titles in 2015, 2016, and 2019, a run of three titles in a span of five years from 2015-19. The 2020 NCAA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Columbia's season was canceled by the Ivy League last year in 2020-21.
KUMBLA LOOKING FOR FOURTH FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA HONOR
In his final career NCAA Championship appearance, senior men's foilist Sidarth Kumbla has the opportunity to become Columbia Fencing's 14th fencer to earn four All-America honors. Should he earn First Team All-America honors, he would become the first male fencer in school history to earn four First Team All-America honors. Only two fencers- Caitlin Bilodeaux (1984-87) and Emily Jacobson (2005-08)- have earned four First Team All-America honors in school history.
As a first-year in 2018, Kumbla finished tied for third with a 17-5 record, in 2019, he went 19-4 for another third place finish. In 2020, Kumbla was named a First Team All-American after the NCAA Championship event was canceled.
BINDER IS BACK
After taking a year off to train for the Olympics in 2019-20, senior women's foilist Sylvie Binder is back at the NCAA Championships. Binder won the 2019 NCAA women's individual foil title after finishing 19-3 overall. She defeated St. John's Katarzyna Lachaman 15-8 in the final.
She is back competing at Columbia with her younger brother Zachary Binder, who is a first-year men's foilist.
After she graduates this May, the American Studies major plans to work on expanding clean energy technology adoption.
The Lions are sending the maximum number of qualifiers, 12, to the strips to face off against the nation's best during the four-day event. The NCAA Championship features fencers from 27 different schools. Columbia is one of four schools with the maximum 12 fencers competing: Notre Dame, Princeton, and Ohio State.
Fans can follow along with live results from the NCAA Championships at this link. A complete NCAA Championship schedule is posted at this link.
Fans unable to attend the event can watch the semifinal bouts, championship bouts and award ceremonies live on ESPN+ (Women's Broadcast: Friday, March 25, 1-5 p.m. ET; Men's Broadcast: Sunday, March 27, 1-5 p.m. ET). Cary Collins will handle production, while Tony Simeone and David Willette will handle play-by-play duties. A complete edited NCAA Championship recap will premiere on live national television on ESPNU on Thursday, April 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The NCAA Championship includes individual events in each of the six weapons (men's epee, men's foil, men's sabre, women's epee, women's foil, and women's sabre). Fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After round-robin, top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners competing to determine first and second places, and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place. An institution's place in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes during round-robin competition.
ABOUT COLUMBIA
Columbia enters NCAA Championship Week after capturing seven medals at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Teddy Lombardo won the men's epee Gold Medal, Sylvie Binder (women's foil), Justin Haddad (men's epee), and Vera Kong (women's sabre) claimed Silver Medals, while Ariana Mangano (women's epee), Zander Rhodes (women's foil), and Nora Burke (women's sabre) registered Bronze Medals.
During the regular season, Columbia's men's team claimed its seventh in the last eight Ivy League championships with a perfect 4-0 record and finished 27-5 overall in dual matches, while the women's squad finished tied for second at the Ivy League Round Robins with a 4-2 record and also went 28-6-1 overall in dual matches. The Columbia Men are currently ranked No. 2 in U.S. Fencing Coaches Poll, while the women are also tabbed at No. 3 in the nation.
COLUMBIA QUALIFIES MAXIMUM 12 FENCERS FOR NCAAS
Columbia-Barnard is one of four schools in the nation who will send the NCAA maximum of 12 student-athletes to the NCAA Fencing Championships. Those schools include Columbia-Barnard, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Ohio State. The Lions are one of 27 institutions which will be represented at this year's fencing championships. Columbia qualified the maximum 12 fencers for the seventh time in the last eight years.
Earning bids for the Lions include Ariana Mangano (women's epee), Valentina Bos (women's epee), Sylvie Binder (women's foil), Zander Rhodes (women's foil), Nora Burke (women's sabre), Vera Kong (women's sabre), Teddy Lombardo (men's epee), Justin Haddad (men's epee), Ashton Daniel (men's foil), Sidarth Kumbla (men's foil), Josef Cohen (men's sabre), and Christopher Walker (men's sabre).
Columbia's lineup features a unique mix of veterans and newcomers. Kumbla qualified for the fourth time, Binder, the 2019 women's foil national champion is in her third NCAA appearance, while Nora Burke, Teddy Lombardo, the 2019 NCAA men's epee individual runner-up, and Christopher Walker have qualified for their second NCAA Championships. The other seven fencers are all making their first NCAA Championship appearance.
A total of 17 Lions qualified for the NCAA Championships but due to personnel restrictions, the Lions can only take 12.
LIONS VYE FOR 17TH NATIONAL TITLE
Historically, the Columbia Fencing program has experienced the most success of any program nationally. Columbia has won the most NCAA team championships (16), the most individual NCAA titles (38), and the most total NCAA championships (team, individual, squad and combined) of any kind (60). The Lions have claimed NCAA titles in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2015, 2016, and 2019.
Columbia has won three of the last five NCAA Fencing Championships that the team has competed in as the Lions won titles in 2015, 2016, and 2019, a run of three titles in a span of five years from 2015-19. The 2020 NCAA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Columbia's season was canceled by the Ivy League last year in 2020-21.
KUMBLA LOOKING FOR FOURTH FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA HONOR
In his final career NCAA Championship appearance, senior men's foilist Sidarth Kumbla has the opportunity to become Columbia Fencing's 14th fencer to earn four All-America honors. Should he earn First Team All-America honors, he would become the first male fencer in school history to earn four First Team All-America honors. Only two fencers- Caitlin Bilodeaux (1984-87) and Emily Jacobson (2005-08)- have earned four First Team All-America honors in school history.
As a first-year in 2018, Kumbla finished tied for third with a 17-5 record, in 2019, he went 19-4 for another third place finish. In 2020, Kumbla was named a First Team All-American after the NCAA Championship event was canceled.
BINDER IS BACK
After taking a year off to train for the Olympics in 2019-20, senior women's foilist Sylvie Binder is back at the NCAA Championships. Binder won the 2019 NCAA women's individual foil title after finishing 19-3 overall. She defeated St. John's Katarzyna Lachaman 15-8 in the final.
She is back competing at Columbia with her younger brother Zachary Binder, who is a first-year men's foilist.
After she graduates this May, the American Studies major plans to work on expanding clean energy technology adoption.
Players Mentioned
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