Fencing to face off in local weekend tournaments

This weekend, both of Columbia’s fencing teams will be competing at the New York University and St. John’s invitationals in their first competitions as a team this season. The highly ranked Lions will be competing against some of the best teams in the country, including familiar opponents such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, and St. John’s.

At last year’s NYU invitational, the Light Blue made a strong showing, as the women’s team bested Notre Dame in a tense match with a final score of 14-13 before losing to St. John’s.

The men came in close behind St. John’s at the NYU invitational with a score of 14-13, also losing to Notre Dame and Ohio State, but beating out teams from Wayne State and Stevens Tech.

On Sunday at St. John’s, the Lions will challenge the same teams again, including Notre Dame and Ohio State, who came in second and third, respectively, in front of Columbia at the NCAA championships last year. The Light Blue will also be competing against the formidable Penn State team, who took home the top spot at the NCAA championships.

The women’s team will start off what promises to be an exciting contest between the nation’s best teams, with its first match against Northwestern at 8:00 a.m.