After facing off against several nationally-ranked teams in a grueling weekend of competition, No. 4 ranked men’s and No. 5 women’s fencing took home mixed results, picking up victories against Ivy League opponents but dropping contests for the first time this campaign.

The starting five smiled as they saw their family’s faces illuminated on the large screens of the empty Levien Gymnasium. While the stands were empty on this early January Sunday, the cheers of the women’s basketball team reverberated throughout the arena as the players’ names were announced. Gathering together in a huddle, they screamed and clapped into an energized frenzy, a tradition before games. While the Omicron-imposed empty arena was eerily reminiscent of spring 2020—when their Ivy League tournament hopes were quashed at the cancellation of the contest—the teammates encouraged each other, filling the arena with their own cheers.

On a sunny October weekend, the Columbia women’s and heavyweight men’s rowing teams competed in the 56th annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With sunbathers on the grass by the banks of the river, the world’s largest crew event resembled more of a summer music festival than an autumn sporting competition.

After snapping a five game losing streak and earning its most dominant win of the season against Harvard, the Columbia volleyball team fell 3-1 to Rider University Wednesday in its first out-of-conference contest in over a month. Rider came out of the gate with an aggressive offense, easily commanding the first two sets. Although a reenergized Columbia team came back to dominate in the third, the Lions ultimately lost in a close fourth set.