Saturday, February 10
New York, N.Y.
11:00 A.M.
Columbia University
vs
Brown (Women)
Men's Fencing Sits in First Place After Day One of Ivy League Championships
2/10/2024 8:51:00 PM | Fencing
The men won a pair of matches, while the women sit in second at 3-1
NEW YORK — There was no short of drama in the opening rounds of the Ivy League Fencing Championships. The Columbia men picked up a pair of victories over Harvard and Penn to head into the final day of the Round Robins on top of the leaderboard. The women went 3-1 on the day, highlighted by a thrilling 14-13 victory over Penn in the second round. However, the Lions fell in the final round to Princeton and sit in second place behind the Tigers.
"I'm really proud of our whole team," said head coach Michael Aufrichtig. "All day was filled with close decisions, but we never quit, which has become a Columbia tradition. It was just a great day of fencing and high-level competition across the board, so we're happy to put ourselves in a position where both teams are still in contention for Ivy League Championships."
The women jumped out to an early lead over Brown in the opening bout, and Audrey Chu clinched the win with a 5-0 triumph over Arianna Baffa in the third round. Zheng (foil) and Yamanaka (epee) posted a perfect 3-0 mark against the Bears in the 19-8 victory.
Cornell gave the women all they could handle, but the Lions ultimately prevailed, 15-12. The Big Red took an early lead, but Tierna Oxenreider gave Columbia a 7-6 edge after a win in epee. The squads traded bout wins until a comeback 5-4 win from Rachael Kim and Evelyn Cheng in foil extended the advantage to 10-8. In the final rounds, Cheng sealed the win with a 5-1 victory over Brianna Lee.
Trailing 11-5 against Penn, the Lion women rallied to close the gap to a one-bout deficit. A 50/50 call went against the Lions to put them behind 13-10 before Columbia rattled off four straight to cap the comeback. Tierna Oxenreider played the role of closer with a 5-1 decision in the final matchup of the round.
Against Princeton, the women dug themselves into another early hole after dropping the first six bouts. The Lions tried to rally once again but came up short in a 16-11 defeat to fall into second place heading into tomorrow.
Individually, Rachael Kim went 8-1 and is in second place in foil and Vera Kong was 6-3 in sabre to stay in the All-Ivy League contention.
The men pulled away late in a tightly contested matchup against Harvard. Columbia received strong performances from Jaden Callahan (3-0 – sabre) and Sam Kumbla (3-0 – foil) to catapult the Lions to a 15-12 win an early lead in the standings.
In the day's final round, it was another back-and-forth battle for the men against Penn. The Lions jumped out to a 6-3 lead after nine bouts, but the Quakers had a solid second run through the lineup, and the score was even at 9-9. Justin Haddad put the Lions back in front, and Columbia held on for a 16-11 decision.
Callahan posted the top record in sabre, 5-1, while Kumbla's 5-1 puts him second in foil. Skyler Liverant and Haddad are tied for third in epee, 4-2.
Day two features two more rounds for each team. Championship Sunday kicks off at 10 a.m. when the women face off against Yale, followed by a 1 p.m. matchup against No. 2 seeded Harvard. The men are set to take on the Bulldogs at 2:15 p.m. and close out the tournament against the top-seed, Princeton, at 3:30 p.m.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY ONE RESULTS
Women
Columbia 19, Brown 8
Columbia 15, Cornell 12
Columbia 14, Penn 13
Columbia 11, Princeton 16
Men
Columbia 15, Harvard 12
Columbia 16, Penn 11
"I'm really proud of our whole team," said head coach Michael Aufrichtig. "All day was filled with close decisions, but we never quit, which has become a Columbia tradition. It was just a great day of fencing and high-level competition across the board, so we're happy to put ourselves in a position where both teams are still in contention for Ivy League Championships."
The women jumped out to an early lead over Brown in the opening bout, and Audrey Chu clinched the win with a 5-0 triumph over Arianna Baffa in the third round. Zheng (foil) and Yamanaka (epee) posted a perfect 3-0 mark against the Bears in the 19-8 victory.
Cornell gave the women all they could handle, but the Lions ultimately prevailed, 15-12. The Big Red took an early lead, but Tierna Oxenreider gave Columbia a 7-6 edge after a win in epee. The squads traded bout wins until a comeback 5-4 win from Rachael Kim and Evelyn Cheng in foil extended the advantage to 10-8. In the final rounds, Cheng sealed the win with a 5-1 victory over Brianna Lee.
Trailing 11-5 against Penn, the Lion women rallied to close the gap to a one-bout deficit. A 50/50 call went against the Lions to put them behind 13-10 before Columbia rattled off four straight to cap the comeback. Tierna Oxenreider played the role of closer with a 5-1 decision in the final matchup of the round.
Against Princeton, the women dug themselves into another early hole after dropping the first six bouts. The Lions tried to rally once again but came up short in a 16-11 defeat to fall into second place heading into tomorrow.
Individually, Rachael Kim went 8-1 and is in second place in foil and Vera Kong was 6-3 in sabre to stay in the All-Ivy League contention.
The men pulled away late in a tightly contested matchup against Harvard. Columbia received strong performances from Jaden Callahan (3-0 – sabre) and Sam Kumbla (3-0 – foil) to catapult the Lions to a 15-12 win an early lead in the standings.
In the day's final round, it was another back-and-forth battle for the men against Penn. The Lions jumped out to a 6-3 lead after nine bouts, but the Quakers had a solid second run through the lineup, and the score was even at 9-9. Justin Haddad put the Lions back in front, and Columbia held on for a 16-11 decision.
Callahan posted the top record in sabre, 5-1, while Kumbla's 5-1 puts him second in foil. Skyler Liverant and Haddad are tied for third in epee, 4-2.
Day two features two more rounds for each team. Championship Sunday kicks off at 10 a.m. when the women face off against Yale, followed by a 1 p.m. matchup against No. 2 seeded Harvard. The men are set to take on the Bulldogs at 2:15 p.m. and close out the tournament against the top-seed, Princeton, at 3:30 p.m.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY ONE RESULTS
Women
Columbia 19, Brown 8
Columbia 15, Cornell 12
Columbia 14, Penn 13
Columbia 11, Princeton 16
Men
Columbia 15, Harvard 12
Columbia 16, Penn 11
Players Mentioned
SABRE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
SABRE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ FencingInterview: FENCE | Anne Cebula & Jackie Dubrovich Headed Paris Olympics
Wednesday, July 24
Interview: FENCE | Bogdan Hamilton Previews Paris Olympics
Tuesday, July 23
Highlight: FENCE | Oxenreider Clinches NCAA Finals Berth
Friday, March 22
Highlight: FENCE | Burke Wins National Sabre Championship
Sunday, March 26
