SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Led by a first place performance from senior Sidarth Kumbla (men's foil) and fifth place performances from senior Teddy Lombardo (men's epee) and junior Ashton Daniel (men's foil), Columbia moved into second place after day three at the 2022 NCAA Fencing Championships Saturday at Notre Dame's Castellan Family Fencing Center in South Bend.
 
One more day of NCAA Fencing competition remains as the men's rounds 4 and 5 begin at 9 a.m. Saturday. Semifinals and Finals are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion. 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. Sunday's men's semifinals and finals can be watched live on ESPN+ at this link.
 
With the start of the men's competition, Columbia began to move up the leaderboard. The Lions opened the day in third place, 19 points behind Notre Dame and seven points behind Princeton, but after the first two rounds of men's epee and one round of men's foil, Columbia had 107 points, one point behind Princeton (108) and just eight points behind Notre Dame (115). Following the second round of men's foil, the Lions passed Princeton and moved into second place. The Lions stayed in second place for the remainder of the day and finished with 138 points, 17 points behind first place Notre Dame (155 points) and one ahead of third place Harvard (137) and four points ahead of Princeton (134).
 
The Lions did the most damage in men's foil as Kumbla put together a spectacular day that saw him win 13 of his 15 bouts and register a plus-39 differential, 10 points higher than second place competitor Mohamed Hamza of Princeton. He went 5-2 in the first round, then surged to close out the day with eight consecutive wins over the final two rounds to secure the top spot.
 
Daniel was also impressive as he finished the day in fifth place with a 10-5 record and plus-23 differential. He caught fire in the second round, winning all four of his bouts.
 
Columbia started the day strong in men's epee as Lombardo and first-year Justin Haddad survived a challenging first round with identical 4-3 records. It was Lombardo who made his mark by winning seven of his last eight bouts to finish the day with an 11-4 overall record and plus-18 differential. Haddad, fencing in his first NCAA Championship, concluded the day in 10^th place with an 8-7 overall record.
 
In men's sabre, junior Christopher Walker sits in 14^th place with a 7-8 record and senior Josef Cohen finished day one in 17^th place at 6-9.
 
In Thursday and Friday's women's competition, Columbia was led by third place performances from senior Sylvie Binder (women's foil) and junior Nora Burke (women's sabre), along with a fifth place effort from first-year Zander Rhodes. Binder earned First Team All-America honors for the third time in her career and Burke garnered her second All-America accolade.
 
The NCAA Fencing Championships utilizes a total national title format which combines results from both the men's and women's competitions. 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+ (Men's Broadcast: Sunday, March 27, 1-5 p.m. ET). A complete edited NCAA Championship recap will premiere on live national television on ESPNU on Thursday, April 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
 
COLUMBIA AT THE 2022 NCAA FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 24-27, 2022 | South Bend, Ind. | Castellan Family Fencing Center
 
DAY THREE RESULTS (Saturday, March 26, 2022)
 
Team Standings
1.Notre Dame, 155
2. COLUMBIA-BARNARD, 138
3. Harvard, 137
4. Princeton, 134
5. Ohio State, 123
6. Penn State, 109
7. Penn, 73
8. St. John's, 68
9. Yale, 57
10. Duke, 51
11. NYU, 40
12. Stanford, 38
13. Cornell, 37
14. UC San Diego, 34
15. Northwestern 33
12 others 25 and below
 
Men's Epee (9 a.m. start)
Justin Haddad (currently in 10th place/24 fencers, 8-7)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 3-1; Third Round: 1-3; Overall: 8-7 (+1), 10th place
 
Teddy Lombardo (currently in 5th place/24 fencers, 11-4)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 4-0; Third Round: 3-1; Overall: 11-4 (+18), 5th place
 
Men's Foil (11 a.m. start)
Ashton Daniel (currently in 5th place/24 fencers, 10-5)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 4-0; Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 10-5 (+23), 5th place
 
Sidarth Kumbla (currently in 1^st place/24 fencers, 13-2)
First Round: 5-2; Second Round: 4-0; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 13-2 (+39), 1^st place
 
Men's Sabre (1:30 p.m. start)
Josef Cohen (currently in 17th place/24 fencers, 6-9)
First Round: 3-4; Second Round: 1-3; Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 6-9 (-10), 17th place
 
Christopher Walker (currently in 14th place/24 fencers, 7-8)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 2-3; Third Round: 1-2; Overall: 7-8 (+1), 14th place
 
DAY ONE & TWO RESULTS (WOMEN'S COMPETITION)
 
Women's Epee
Valentina Bos (finished in 14^th place/24 fencers, 10-13)
First Round: 2-5; Second Round: 0-4; Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 4-11 (-13), 21^st place
Fourth Round: 2-2; Fifth Round: 4-0; Final Record: 10-13 (+1)
 
Ariana Mangano (finished in 23^rd place/24 fencers, 7-16)
First Round: 2-5; Second Round: 1-3; Third Round: 1-3; Overall: 4-11 (-16), 22^nd place
Fourth Round: 1-3; Fifth Round: 2-2; Final Record: 7-16 (-26)
 
Women's Foil
Sylvie Binder (finished T-3^rd place/24 fencers, 17-6)
First Round: 4-3; Second Round: 3-1; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 11-4 (+17), 6^th place
Fourth Round: 3-1; Fifth Round: 3-1; Final Record: 17-6 (+35)
Semifinal: No. 4 seed, lost 15-9 to No. 1 seed Maia Weintraub, Princeton
 
Zander Rhodes (finished in 5^th place/24 fencers, 17-6)
First Round: 7-0; Second Round: 2-2; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 13-2 (+31), 1^st place
Fourth Round: 2-2; Fifth Round: 2-2; Final Record: 17-6 (+34)
 
Women's Sabre (1:30 p.m. start)
Nora Burke (finished T-3^rd place/24 fencers, 20-3)
First Round: 7-0; Second Round: 3-1; Third Round: 4-0; Overall: 14-1 (+34), 1^st place
Fourth Round: 3-1; Fifth Round: 3-1; Final Record: 20-3 (+37), T-1^st place
Semifinal: No. 2 seed, lost 15-11 to No. 3 seed Atara Greenbuam, Notre Dame
 
Vera Kong (finished in 12^th place/24 fencers, 12-11)
First Round: 5-2; Second Round: 2-2: Third Round: 2-2; Overall: 9-6 (+3), 7^th place
Fourth Round: 2-2; Fifth Round: 1-3; Final Record: 12-11 (+4), 12^th place