SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Led by first place performances from first-year Zander Rhodes (women's foil) and junior Nora Burke (women's sabre), Columbia-Barnard ended the first day of NCAA Fencing Championship competition in third place following the women's first, second, and third rounds Thursday at the Castellan Family Fencing Center in South Bend. Competition continues with day two on Friday with rounds 4 through 5 for all three women's weapons beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday. Semifinals and Finals competition immediately follows at approximately 1:30 p.m.
 
Fans can follow along with live results from the NCAA Championships at this link. A live feed of every strip is available at this link. Friday's women's semifinals and finals can be watched live on ESPN+ at this link.
 
It was an upward climb on Thursday for Columbia. Columbia opened the day in sixth place after two rounds of epee and one round of foil, moved up a spot into fifth place following the first round of sabre bouts, then vaulted into third place after the third round of foil and second round of sabre. Columbia concluded the day in third place with 55 points behind first place Notre Dame (65 points) and second place Princeton (58 points).
 
Columbia began moving up the leaderboard when is sabre performance came into play. Burke finished the day with a 14-1 record and maintained her first place standing throughout the day's competition. She swept through her first round competitors with a perfect 7-0 record. She was the only fencer to complete the first round undefeated and ascended to first place immediately with a plus-24 differential. Then she won seven of her last eight bouts to finish 14-1.
 
Sophomore Vera Kong complemented Burke's performance with a strong first round showing as she went 5-2 in sabre with a plus-5 differential. She finished the first round in seventh place with a 9-6 record.
 
Rhodes jumped out to a hot start and maintained her first place lead throughout the day as she ended with a 13-2 overall record. She opened with an undefeated 7-0 record and took control of first place as the only undefeated foilist in the first round. After going 2-2 in the second round, she finished the day strong with four straight wins in round three.
 
Senior Sylvie Binder, the 2019 NCAA individual foil champion, finished the day in sixth place with an 11-4 overall record. After a show 4-3 start in the first round, Binder finished strong with four straight wins in round three. Rhodes and Binder combined to go 8-0 in the third round.
 
Junior Ariana Mangano and senior Valentina Bos opened the day for the Lions in women's epee. Bos concluded the day in 21^st place with a 4-11 record, while Mangano finished the day in 22^nd place at 4-11.
 
The men's weapons competition is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
 
For the four-day event, Columbia qualified the NCAA maximum number of 12 fencers. The NCAA Championship features fencers from 27 different schools, while Columbia is one of four schools with the maximum 12 fencers competing: Notre Dame, Princeton, and Ohio State.
 
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).
 
COLUMBIA AT THE 2022 NCAA FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 24-27, 2022 | South Bend, Ind. | Castellan Family Fencing Center
 
DAY ONE RESULTS (Thursday, March 24, 2022)
 
Team Standings
1.Notre Dame, 65
2. Princeton, 58
3. COLUMBIA-BARNARD, 55
4. Ohio State 50
5. Harvard, 48
6. Penn State, 44
7. Penn, 30
8. Cornell, 24
9. St. John's, 22
10. Yale, 22
11. Northwestern, 19
12. Duke, 17
13. UC San Diego, 13
10 others
 
Women's Epee (9 a.m. start)
Valentina Bos (currently in 21^st place/24 fencers)
First Round: 2-5; Second Round: 0-4; Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 4-11 (-13)
 
Ariana Mangano (currently in 22^nd place/24 fencers)
First Round: 2-5; Second Round: 1-3; Third Round: 1-3; Overall: 4-11 (-16)
 
Women's Foil (11 a.m. start)
Sylvie Binder (currently in 6^th place/24 fencers)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 3-1; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 11-4 (+17).
 
Zander Rhodes (currently in 1st place/24 fencers)
First Round: 7-0; Second Round: 2-2; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 13-2 (+31).
 
Women's Sabre (1:30 p.m. start)
Nora Burke (currently in 1st place/24 fencers)
First Round: 7-0; Second Round: 3-1; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 14-1 (+34)
 
Vera Kong (currently in 7th place/24 fencers)
First Round: 5-2; Second Round: 2-2: Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 9-6 (+3)