Fencing Goes Combined 8-2 at St. John's Super Cup

Saturday, January 21

Queens, N.Y.

10:00 A.M.

Columbia University

St. John's

Fencing Goes Combined 8-2 at St. John's Super Cup

1/21/2023 7:41:00 PM | Fencing

Full Results

Both men’s and women’s squads finish 4-1 at the highly-competitive event

QUEENS, N.Y. — Against one of the strongest fields they've faced all season, Columbia fencing went a combined 8-2 at the St. John's Super Cup Saturday. The men's squad picked up wins over St. John's, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame and fell to Harvard. On the women's side, the Lions knocked off the Red Storm, Crimson, Buckeyes and Nittany Lions before dropping the finale to the Fighting Irish.

Yana Botvinnik competed in all five rounds and went 9-4 to lead the way for the women in epee. Delphine DeVore also had a standout performance, going 10-2 in foil. On the men's side, Bogdan Hamilton came out of the competition with a 7-2 mark in foil.

"I am so proud of our effort today in one of the strongest meets of the season," head coach Michael Aufrichtig said. "Smart fencing, great teamwork and fighting for every touch. I feel that we come out of this competition hungry and ready for what's next."

The day started with a pair of wins over the host Red Storm. The women used a 9-0 sweep, thanks to unblemished marks from the trio of Yana Botvinnik, Karolina Nixon and Audrey Chu, in foil to secure a 19-8 victory. Foil was the difference in the men's contest, with St. John's on its way to a 15-12 decision. Joon Paik and Hamilton went 3-0 in the opening contest.

In round two, the women prevailed over the Crimson, 18-9. Delphine DeVore swept through her Harvard counterparts to propel foil to a 7-2 triumph in her weapon and a 6-3 edge in epee to provide enough separation to claim the victory.

Columbia's men responded from its defeat to Harvard to top Ohio State, 15-12. Andrew Zheng (foil) and Robert Vidovszky (sabre) went undefeated in the match-up to lead their weapons to victory. On the women's side, the Lions picked up their third straight win by a score of 19-8. Nora Burke's 3-0 mark led sabre to a convincing 7-2 win.

The afternoon session began with both teams coming out on top over Penn State. The men's team, boosted by 3-0 performances from Ethan Kushnerik (epee) and Nick Harvey (sabre), gave the Lions a 17-10 edge over the Nittany Lions. Women's foil dominated against Penn State, with Rachel Zhang and DeVore downing each of their opponents. Chloe Gouhin also went 3-0 in sabre as Columbia earned a 20-7 triumph.

Columbia's men closed the day with a rousing victory over Notre Dame, 15-12. The epee and sabre each picked up 6-3 wins, which was the difference. The women traded 5-4 decisions in sabre and foil, but the Fighting Irish doubled up the Lions in epee to deny Columbia a perfect day.

Columbia's women will take the stage Sunday, January 22, at the Philadelphia Invitational, co-hosted by Penn and Temple. The Lions are slated to face Temple, NYU, Notre Dame, Northwestern and Wayne State at the event.

For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on Twitter and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.