Saturday, March 21
Notre Dame, Ind.
All Day
Columbia
vs
NCAA Men's Championships Day 1 (Hosted by Notre Dame)
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.
Men's Fencing Completes Day One of NCAA Championships in Second Place
3/21/2026 5:45:00 PM | Fencing
Will Morrill was the Lions’ top performer of the day, going 14-1 in sabre
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — After one day of action at the NCAA Championships, Columbia men's fencing sits in second place with 51 bout victories on Friday. The Lions trail first-place Notre Dame by 12 heading into the final day of action.
"We didn't get off to the start we wanted this morning, but I'm proud of the way the men closed out the day," said head coach Michael Aufrichtig. "This group has a ton of character and I believe they can carry the momentum we built this afternoon into tomorrow and come up with some strong finishes."
Columbia had its best showing in sabre, where Will Morrill posted a 14-1 record, which is tied for the most in the weapon with two rounds to go. Zeyad Nofal (10-5) used a strong first two rounds to jump into seventh place in his first NCAA Championship appearance.
Samarth Kumbla and Marsel Nagimov surged in the final round of foil, going a combined 8-0, to move them up to fifth and sixth on the leaderboard. The duo each went 10-5, which is tied for the fourth most wins in the weapon, and trails by one and two touches on the indicator tiebreaker.
Men's epee saw Sasha Bezrodnov pick up four wins and Skyler Liverant win three bouts in the first group to finish.
Columbia concludes pool play Sunday with two rounds beginning at 9 a.m. The team title is determined by total bout victories in round-robin competition. The top four finishers in each weapon advance to 15-touch semifinals, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on X, Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
"We didn't get off to the start we wanted this morning, but I'm proud of the way the men closed out the day," said head coach Michael Aufrichtig. "This group has a ton of character and I believe they can carry the momentum we built this afternoon into tomorrow and come up with some strong finishes."
Columbia had its best showing in sabre, where Will Morrill posted a 14-1 record, which is tied for the most in the weapon with two rounds to go. Zeyad Nofal (10-5) used a strong first two rounds to jump into seventh place in his first NCAA Championship appearance.
Samarth Kumbla and Marsel Nagimov surged in the final round of foil, going a combined 8-0, to move them up to fifth and sixth on the leaderboard. The duo each went 10-5, which is tied for the fourth most wins in the weapon, and trails by one and two touches on the indicator tiebreaker.
Men's epee saw Sasha Bezrodnov pick up four wins and Skyler Liverant win three bouts in the first group to finish.
Columbia concludes pool play Sunday with two rounds beginning at 9 a.m. The team title is determined by total bout victories in round-robin competition. The top four finishers in each weapon advance to 15-touch semifinals, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia's fencing programs, follow @CULionsFencing on X, Instagram and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Players Mentioned
EPEE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
EPEE
/ Fencing
SABRE
/ Fencing
FOIL
/ Fencing
SABRE
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