Wednesday, February 14
New York, N.Y.
5:15 P.M.
Columbia University
at
NYU
Fencing Concludes Regular Season at George Kolombatovich Historical Meet
2/13/2024 5:00:00 PM | Fencing
The Lions will compete for the Bilodeau and Preschel Trophies at NYU
NEW YORK - The Columbia Fencing program will make the short trip to NYU for the fifth annual George Kolombatovich Historical Meet on Wednesday evening at the John A. Paulson Center. The Lions will take on NYU at 5:15 p.m., followed by Sacred Heart at 6:30 and will complete the tri-meet against Vassar at 7:45 p.m.
The Lions are fresh off of winning the men's and women's Ivy League Championships on Sunday after a thrilling weekend of fencing in Levien Gymnasium. The women went 5-1 at the event, matching the record of Penn and Princeton and three earned All-Ivy League honors, highlighted by a first-team nod from Rachael Kim in women's foil. The men posted a 4-1 mark, tying with Harvard and Princeton. Sam Kumbla won the individual men's foil crown and Skyler Liverant gained All-Ivy League status for the second consecutive year in epee with a first-team performance.
The Columbia and NYU matchup will see two more trophies on the line: the Irving Martin Preschel men's fencing trophy and the Katy Bilodeau '87CC women's trophy. The Preschel Trophy dates back to 1945-46 and is named in honor of Preschel, a former manager and member of the NYU fencing team who was killed in action at Heidelberg, Germany, on March 30, 1945. A Columbia superstar, Bilodeau was a four-time All-American, two-time NCAA foil champion (1985 and 1987), two-time Olympian (1988 and 1992), and was named the NCAA Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s. The Bilodeau Trophy was introduced in 1990-91, but the Columbia-NYU women's series began in 1982-83.
Previously known as Columbia's Historical Meet, the event's name was changed to the George Kolombatovich Historical Meet beginning in the 2018-19 season to honor the former Columbia fencing coach after his passing in September 2018.
Kolombatovich served as Columbia's head fencing coach for 33 seasons, starting in 1979. His Columbia teams won five national championships (two combined and three men's titles), 17 Ivy League men's fencing titles and eight Ivy League women's fencing titles over 33 years.
Columbia's next scheduled competition after Wednesday's matches is at NCAA Regionals on Sunday, March 10, in Brookville, New York. LIU will host the event.
The Lions are fresh off of winning the men's and women's Ivy League Championships on Sunday after a thrilling weekend of fencing in Levien Gymnasium. The women went 5-1 at the event, matching the record of Penn and Princeton and three earned All-Ivy League honors, highlighted by a first-team nod from Rachael Kim in women's foil. The men posted a 4-1 mark, tying with Harvard and Princeton. Sam Kumbla won the individual men's foil crown and Skyler Liverant gained All-Ivy League status for the second consecutive year in epee with a first-team performance.
The Columbia and NYU matchup will see two more trophies on the line: the Irving Martin Preschel men's fencing trophy and the Katy Bilodeau '87CC women's trophy. The Preschel Trophy dates back to 1945-46 and is named in honor of Preschel, a former manager and member of the NYU fencing team who was killed in action at Heidelberg, Germany, on March 30, 1945. A Columbia superstar, Bilodeau was a four-time All-American, two-time NCAA foil champion (1985 and 1987), two-time Olympian (1988 and 1992), and was named the NCAA Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s. The Bilodeau Trophy was introduced in 1990-91, but the Columbia-NYU women's series began in 1982-83.
Previously known as Columbia's Historical Meet, the event's name was changed to the George Kolombatovich Historical Meet beginning in the 2018-19 season to honor the former Columbia fencing coach after his passing in September 2018.
Kolombatovich served as Columbia's head fencing coach for 33 seasons, starting in 1979. His Columbia teams won five national championships (two combined and three men's titles), 17 Ivy League men's fencing titles and eight Ivy League women's fencing titles over 33 years.
Columbia's next scheduled competition after Wednesday's matches is at NCAA Regionals on Sunday, March 10, in Brookville, New York. LIU will host the event.
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