Fencing Fights to Defend Ivy Title

The Columbia fencing team is somewhat unusual, in that its goal going into the championship isn’t so much about winning as it is about defense.
Sunday’s competition at Yale marks the first half of the 2008 Ivy League Championship, where the Lions will face off against teams from Cornell, Penn, and Princeton. This half of the competition will pose a significant challenge to the Light Blue’s chances, and the second leg of competition at Princeton next weekend against Harvard, Yale, and Brown will not be any easier.
“Penn and Princeton are quite strong this year and league is very deep,” head coach George Kolombatovich said. “Princeton is a formidable opponent as they filled some of their weaknesses and Penn is always tough. I’m hopeful for this weekend and our realistic goal is to go after all of them.”
After competing in a tune-up meet last weekend at the NYU Duals against some of the nation’s top competition, the Lions return four of their nine starters on the men’s side and one for the women’s this weekend. In épée, Columbia will start co-captain Max Czapanskiy, Lorenzo Casertano, and Brent Kelly for the men, and Oriana Isaacson, Tess Finkel, and Martyna Urbanowicz for the women. There are no seniors in the group of épée fencers, highlighting a central theme of this year’s squad—youth.
“Our team has four freshmen starters for the women, but three have been on United States national teams,” Kolombatovich said. “They’re all very experienced. They competed well last weekend and I expect them to do the same.”
At foil for the men, the Lions boast the top-rated junior fencer in the nation, sophomore Kurt Getz, co-captain and world cup competitor Sherif Farrag, and Isaac Kim. Once again, there are no seniors in the group, but all have competed at the international level. For the women, senior co-captain Magda Losonczy will be joined in foil by two freshmen, Nicole Ross and Abby Caparros-Janto.
In sabre, co-captain Alex Diacou heads the men’s side along with sophomores Alex Rudnicki and Jeff Spear. In women’s sabre, international medal-winning sisters Emily and Jackie Jacobson take to the strip with senior standout Dani Gordet. Sabre is where the Lions are strongest compared to their Ivy counterparts, and it will be crucial to pick up as many victories in this discipline as possible if Columbia is to begin its Ivy title defense successfully.
“Where we want to be at our best is at the Ivies and at the NCAAs,” Kolombatovich said. “We want to be in the running and to be in contention every year. Our fencers know the level of focus they need to win and they will put themselves in the position to succeed this weekend.”