Columbia University
NCAA Northeast Regional
Fencing Claims Seven Medals at NCAA Northeast Regional
3/12/2023 10:18:00 PM | Fencing
Zander Rhodes takes gold as Lions stack the podium ahead of the NCAA Championship
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior Zander Rhodes finished first in women's foil to highlight a stellar day of performances by the Columbia fencing team at the NCAA Northeast Regional Sunday. The Lions saw a total of seven individuals reach the podium, with Tamar Gordon (women's foil), Colby Harley (men's sabre), Ariana Mangano (women's epee) earning silver medals and Zachary Binder (men's foil), Chloe Gouhin (women's sabre) and Skyler Liverant (men's epee) picking up bronze.
A total of 22-of-24 Columbia fencers made the final pools and earned top-12 finishes. The Lions will aim to qualify the maximum 12 competitors (six men, six women - two per weapon) for the NCAA Championships, which will be announced Tuesday, March 14.
"Today has been one of the best NCAA Regionals performances in Columbia's history," said head coach Michael Aufrichtig. "The team brought their best, and at the end of the day, we saw a lot of Columbia blue socks in the final pools. Congratulations to our medal-winners and top finishers, who put forth a tremendous effort all season, and it paid off today. We are another step closer to our journey to the 2023 NCAA Championships."
Rhodes improved on her third-place finish last season to win the gold this time around. The South Orange, New Jersey, native went 9-2 in the final pool of the day to edge out Lauren Scruggs by one victory. On the day, Rhodes was 19-4 in the three sessions.
Gordon and Gouhin each won 8-of-11 bouts to cap off the day, but the first-year edged out the sophomore due to more touches won. Gordon started strong, going 10-2 in the first two pools and got better as the day went on with a 6-0 mark in the penultimate round-robin. Gouhin was consistent throughout and posted a 16-7 overall record.
In women's epee, the day started with all four fencers going 6-0 in the second session of the weapon. However, Mangano separated herself from the pack with another unblemished round and a 9-2 record in the finals.
Harley gained his place on the podium, going 8-3 in men's sabre final round. He reached that spot after a 6-0 in his opening round and 3-3 in the semifinal stage.
The trio of Binder, Joon Paik and Ashton Daniel went 3-4-5 in men's foil. Binder started the day a combined 9-3 in the early stages before closing things out, winning 7-of-11 matchups for silver. Paik finished with a 16-7 mark and Daniel went 14-9.
The 2023 NCAA Championships will be held from March 23-26 on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on Twitter and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
COLUMBIA'S NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL RESULTS
WOMEN'S SABRE
2. Tamar Gordon
3. Chloe Gouhin
5. Vera Kong
7. Nora Burke
26. Anna Li
WOMEN'S FOIL
1. Zander Rhodes
4. Delphine DeVore
7. Evelyn Cheng
WOMEN'S EPEE
2. Ariana Mangano
5. Tierna Oxenreider
10. Karolina Nixon
11. Audrey Chu
MEN'S SABRE
2. Colby Harley
8. Christopher Walker
9. Jackson McBride
14. Robert Vidovsky
MEN'S FOIL
3. Zachary Binder
4. Joon Paik
5. Ashton Daniel
T9. Andrew Zheng
MEN'S EPEE
3. Skyler Liverant
4. Teddy Lombardo
5. Justin Haddad
7. Ethan Kushernik
Players Mentioned
