Strong showing from both fencing squads at Ivies

At the 2012 Ivy League Championships this past weekend at Yale, the Columbia women’s fencing team was unable to win its first Ivy title since 2008. However, a strong second-place finish by the women, the best finish by the men since 2009, and a number of excellent individual performances served as significant consolation prizes for the Lions.

Heading into their fifth match of the tournament, the women were 4-0 and due to face No. 2 Princeton in a match whose winner was guaranteed a share of the Ivy League title. The Lions were unable to maintain their early lead and were forced to watch reigning back-to-back champion Princeton rally to an 18-9 victory.

“We were really positive going into Princeton,” senior sabrist and captain Sammy Roberts said. “We were all fighting. Sabre was able to start it out strong. We tried to set a pace for everyone, and everyone tried to feed off of it, but in the end, we came up short, but not for a lack of effort.”

“They are a very strong team,” head coach Michael Aufrichtig said. “We were winning the close ones at the beginning, and they were winning the close ones in the middle and end.”
The women finished second in the tournament with a record of 4-1, posting victories over Cornell, No. 9 Penn, No. 7 Harvard, and Yale.

On the men’s side, the Lions had beaten Brown 19-8 and had fallen to No. 7 Penn 12-15 on Saturday. On Sunday, the Lions fell to No. 3 Harvard 12-15, and not too many expected the Lions to go toe-to-toe with No. 2 Princeton.

However, after 26 bouts, the Lions and Tigers were tied 13-13 heading into the final bout between Columbia sophomore epeeist Alen Hadzic and Princeton junior epeeist Jonathan Yergler. Hadzic went up 2-1 but was unable to complete what would have been a stunning upset.

Not only was the performance encouraging for coaches and fencers alike, but it helped propel them to an 18-9 victory over No. 10 Yale and an overall tournament record of 2-3.

“We were winning bouts we shouldn’t have,” senior epeeist Sean Leahy said. “I think that is because our mentality in the huddle against Princeton was, ‘Let’s ruin these guys’ day.’ We were gunning for Princeton really hard. I think we caught them off guard. After Princeton, I knew we were going to beat Yale because everyone was so fired up and fencing so well. It gave us a tremendous amount of confidence.”

Freshman sabrist Will Spear walked away from the Coxe Cage with a 13-2 record and first-team All-Ivy recognition and was awarded both the Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Performer Awards for the overall meet.

Heading into the meet, Spear had gone 22-10 as he adjusted to the collegiate five-touch bout. This weekend, he put it all together.

“Will Spear, throughout the season, has been getting into the groove of these five-touch bouts,” Aufrichtig said. “At Ivies, he found it.”

Another strong performance from the men’s squad came from sophomore foilist Alex Pensler, who posted an 11-4 record along his way to making first team All-Ivy. Leahy and sophomore sabrist Melvin Rodriguez both earned second team All-Ivy with respective records of 9-7 and 10-5.

The Lions’ young fencers, especially on the men’s side, were the strength of the team.

“At a lot of these competitions, the results come out because of experience,” Leahy said. “Our freshmen and sophomores stepped up more than I thought they would. I am incredibly proud, impressed, and excited about that. This is unreal from freshmen and sophomores. The future for them is unlimited.”

Aufrichtig agreed. “The men’s team became the men’s team here at Ivy Championships,” he said.

“There was a lot of cheering and a lot of support. If someone messed up, they didn’t get upset with themselves. They came right back and cheered their teammates on. There were a lot of bouts that people might not have expected us to win that came through that spirit.”

On the women’s side, Roberts, junior sabrist Loweye Diedro, and freshman epeeist Diana Tsinis earned first-team All-Ivy honors with records of 15-3, 15-3, and 11-4, respectively. Junior sabrist Essane Diedro finished 14-4 on her way to second-team All-Ivy.

This weekend marked the final Ivy League Championships for Roberts, who has posted a record of 15-3 at the tournament in her four years at Columbia.

“It feels great to go 15-3,” Roberts said. “I am really happy with my record. I fenced some really amazing bouts. I won two bouts that felt like the best fencing I’ve done in a long time. It’s really good because it was against fencers that I will see in the future.”

Although disappointed they were unable to knock off Princeton, Roberts believes that this women’s team will be even better next year.

“It’s hard,” Roberts said. “I’ve put a lot of time and effort into this team. I love this team. I love this program, [but] the team has a lot of promise for the future, and I know they’ll be able to get a ring.”