Fencing Wins Ivy Championship

For the first time since 2002, Columbia once again has the top fencing program in the Ivy League.

Both the men's and women's teams claimed the league championship yesterday in a fitting end to the women's perfect 15-0 season. The men's squad won its sixth title in seven years but could not avenge last year's defeat to Harvard and had to share the championship with the Crimson.

"It really was a wonderful day," Columbia head coach George Kolombatovich said. "It has been a while since we've had results like that, and the team worked tremendously hard for this accomplishment."

Harvard hosted the second part of the Ivy Championships, and the defending national champions were not going to give up their hold on the Ancient Eight crown without a fight. Although competing without senior captain Sam Cross, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, the Crimson men came out on fire against the front-running Lions. In a match that came down to the final bout, the Crimson defeated the Lions 14-13, handing the Light Blue its only Ivy loss. Despite having to share the title with Harvard, Columbia knows the significance of holding both titles at the same time.

"It was really important to me that the women won," senior captain Scott Sugimoto said. "Now everyone on this bus has a ring, and that's a great feeling. The senior women finally get to be champions, and while it would have been nice for the men to win outright, we still get a ring too. We're all champions, and I could not be prouder of this team."

After both the men and women swept Princeton, 21-6 and 19-8, respectively, the Lions faced their rivals-the Harvard Crimson. The women dominated the previously undefeated Crimson in the sabre and foil disciplines, picking up 17 of 18 possible bouts, en route to a crushing 21-6 victory. Needing victories over Penn to secure both titles, the men rebounded with a 17-10 win over the Quakers, while the women easily reached the necessary 14 points, finishing with a 15-12 victory.

Still, the men's match against Harvard stuck out.

"It was a real close one, and they just did a great job," Kolombatovich said. "They were that much better than us at that moment. We were a bit too excited, and it was one of those matches that could have gone either way."

The women's undefeated season included nine non-conference matches and six Ivy contests with the Lions defeating seven top-10 teams. In their six Ancient Eight tussles, the Lions' average margin of victory was a staggering 13 bouts, as they finished with over 20 points in half their matches.

"I don't remember the last time we have had an undefeated season," Kolombatovich said. "This team can do some great things, and our season isn't fully over yet."

"Our team has been focused on this since we lost last season," sophomore epeeist Oriana Isaacson said. "I don't think we plan on stopping anytime soon. We had a lot of first-team all-Ivy on both sides, and I think that will carry us into the NCAAs."

Not surprisingly, the Lions took the most individual honors for the Championships, finishing with 11 all-Ivy fencers. For the men, senior James Williams finished with the best overall sabre record and earned first-team all-Ivy honors, while fellow senior Alex Krul and freshman Jeff Spear garnered second-team accolades. In men's epee sophomore Dwight Smith, like Williams, had the best record in his discipline, and along with freshman Brent Kelly, made first-team all-Ivy. The talented foil duo of Sugimoto and freshman Kurt Getz also earned first-team honors for their performances over the two weekends.

The entire women's epee squad, which consists of juniors Emily Jacobson, Dani Gordet, and sophomore Daria Schneider, made first-team all-Ivy after going an incredible 47-7 against their Ancient Eight opponents. Senior epeeist Alexie Rubin earned first-team all-Ivy distinctions for her 14-4 record, while fellow seniors Kathleen Reckling and Cassidy Luitjen made the first team as foilists.

The Ivy title now returned to Morningside Heights, the next step for Columbia is NCAA Regionals, with a potential run in the NCAA Championships looming at the end of March.