UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Columbia fencing returned to competition, with the No. 2 men's squad going a perfect 5-0 and the No. 3 women posting a 4-1 mark in duals at the Penn State Invitational Sunday. The Lions faced Penn State, Temple (women only), Haverford (men only), North Carolina, Duke and Penn.
Individually,
Joon Paik and
Zachary Zusin went 8-1 in men's foil and
Nora Burke posted a 9-1 mark on the day in women's sabre.
"Today was a fantastic opportunity to test many different lineups learning more about what we need to be at our best," head coach
Michael Aufrichtig said. "We are excited for the St John's Cup next week."
The day started with both squads topping the host Nittany Lions. The men posted a 20-7 victory, highlighted by sweeps from
Ashton Daniel, Paik and
Ethan Kushnerik. The women picked up a 19-8 win thanks to a strong performance from sabre and
Chloe Gouhin and
Nora Burke going 3-0.
In round two, the men coasted to a 24-3 triumph over Haverford. The trio of
Jackson McBride,
Nick Harvey and
Trenton Schmitt went undefeated in the contest in a 9-0 win in sabre.
The men's epee shined, going 8-1, in a 21-6 overall besting of North Carolina. Ethan Kusherik and
Skyler Liverant each went 3-0 against the Tar Heels. The women bounced back with an 18-9 decision over UNC, helped by undefeated cycles from
Evelyn Cheng and
Alexandra Jing.
Against Duke, the men prevailed, 20-7, with the women taking down the Blue Devils by a count of 16-11. The Lions closed the day with the women taking down Penn, 20-7, and the men held off the Quakers, 16-11.
The Lions are back in action next Saturday, January 21, at the St. John's Super Cup in Queens, New York.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on
Twitter and
Instagram and the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com.
