Thursday, March 21
Columbus, Ohio
Columbia
vs
NCAA Championships (Women Day 1)
Photo by: Ricky Bassman
Fencing Closes Out Day One of NCAA Championships in Second Place
3/21/2024 5:56:00 PM | Fencing
The Lions’ women took the stage in the preliminary rounds Thursday
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbia fencing finished day one of the 2024 NCAA Championships in second place in the team standings after the women kicked off the competition on Thursday at French Field House on the campus of Ohio State University. The Lions racked up 52 bout victories, trailing Harvard by seven heading into the conclusion of the women's event Friday.
Notre Dame is third with 49 points. The Crimson and Fighting Irish both have 12 fencers at the tournament, one more than Columbia, so the Lions will have to make up for the fact that they have 23 fewer bouts throughout the rest of the weekend if they want to reach the top of the team standings.
"I'm really pleased with how we started today," head coach Michael Aufrichtig said. "Having five women either sitting in or within one bout of reaching the semifinals is a good spot to be in. Tierna built off of last year's experience at NCAA's and was solid today. Also, seeing Mina and Evelyn have strong debuts in this environment was great, and you can't count out Rachael Kim with all the success she's had with us this year and her international experience. It was a great finish for us in women's sabre from Vera and Tamar, and looking forward to carrying that momentum into Friday."
Epee started things off in the early session, with Tierna Oxenreider topping teammate Mina Yamanaka in the first bout of the weekend. Oxenreider put herself in a semifinal position by posting a 6-2 mark in rounds two and three to sit just one off the leader, Emily Vermeule from Harvard, at 10-5. Yamanaka finished the first round strong, winning three of her final four bouts and was 3-1 in the final pool to finish the day at 9-6 and is in seventh place.
Evelyn Cheng came out firing on all cylinders in foil, going 5-2 in round one and split a pair of bouts in the second and third stages of day one. Her 9-6 mark puts her in eighth place and just one bout behind in the race for the top four. First-year Rachael Kim closed her first day of NCAA's with a pair of wins and sits in 21st place.
In sabre, Vera Kong and Tamar Gordon combined to go 8-0 in the final round to climb the leaderboard. Kong has a one-touch indicator advantage over Gordon for fourth place, but both are in prime position for a berth in the semifinals at 10-5.
The women's competition wraps up on Saturday, March 22, with two more round-robin pools to determine the top four finishers in each discipline beginning at 9 a.m. The top four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place. The semifinals begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on Twitter and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS THROUGH THREE ROUNDS
Women's Epee
4. Tierna Oxenreider (10-5, +19 Ind.)
7. Mina Yamanaka (9-6, +6 Ind.)
Women's Foil
8. Evelyn Cheng (9-6, +14 Ind.)
21. Rachael Kim (4-11, -12 Ind.)
Women's Sabre
4. Vera Kong (10-5, +16 Ind.)
5. Tamar Gordon (10-5, +15 Ind.)
Notre Dame is third with 49 points. The Crimson and Fighting Irish both have 12 fencers at the tournament, one more than Columbia, so the Lions will have to make up for the fact that they have 23 fewer bouts throughout the rest of the weekend if they want to reach the top of the team standings.
"I'm really pleased with how we started today," head coach Michael Aufrichtig said. "Having five women either sitting in or within one bout of reaching the semifinals is a good spot to be in. Tierna built off of last year's experience at NCAA's and was solid today. Also, seeing Mina and Evelyn have strong debuts in this environment was great, and you can't count out Rachael Kim with all the success she's had with us this year and her international experience. It was a great finish for us in women's sabre from Vera and Tamar, and looking forward to carrying that momentum into Friday."
Epee started things off in the early session, with Tierna Oxenreider topping teammate Mina Yamanaka in the first bout of the weekend. Oxenreider put herself in a semifinal position by posting a 6-2 mark in rounds two and three to sit just one off the leader, Emily Vermeule from Harvard, at 10-5. Yamanaka finished the first round strong, winning three of her final four bouts and was 3-1 in the final pool to finish the day at 9-6 and is in seventh place.
Evelyn Cheng came out firing on all cylinders in foil, going 5-2 in round one and split a pair of bouts in the second and third stages of day one. Her 9-6 mark puts her in eighth place and just one bout behind in the race for the top four. First-year Rachael Kim closed her first day of NCAA's with a pair of wins and sits in 21st place.
In sabre, Vera Kong and Tamar Gordon combined to go 8-0 in the final round to climb the leaderboard. Kong has a one-touch indicator advantage over Gordon for fourth place, but both are in prime position for a berth in the semifinals at 10-5.
The women's competition wraps up on Saturday, March 22, with two more round-robin pools to determine the top four finishers in each discipline beginning at 9 a.m. The top four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place. The semifinals begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on Twitter and Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS THROUGH THREE ROUNDS
Women's Epee
4. Tierna Oxenreider (10-5, +19 Ind.)
7. Mina Yamanaka (9-6, +6 Ind.)
Women's Foil
8. Evelyn Cheng (9-6, +14 Ind.)
21. Rachael Kim (4-11, -12 Ind.)
Women's Sabre
4. Vera Kong (10-5, +16 Ind.)
5. Tamar Gordon (10-5, +15 Ind.)
Players Mentioned
FOIL
/ Fencing
SABRE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
SABRE
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ Fencing
EPEE
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