Fencing returned to the strip this past Sunday to compete at the Penn State Invitational in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Lions dominated the invitational, ending with an overall record of 11-0. The women’s team finished with an overall meet record of 6-0, while the men’s came away with a 5-0 record.

For their first round of the meet, the Lions faced off against Penn. The men’s sabre squad fought a nail-biting match against the Quakers. The teams traded off wins, battling back and forth until the Quakers pulled away in the eighth bout for a heartbreaking final score of 5-4.

The men’s foil team faced similarly fierce competition against the Quakers. Columbia had a strong start, winning three of the first four bouts, but their lead soon tightened. In the eighth bout of the match, sophomore Marsel Nagimov won a tight 5-4 bout and ensured victory for the Lions.

The men’s épée squad also played a competitive match against Penn. The teams remained neck and neck until the final bout, where they were tied 4-4. Junior Skyler Liverant snatched victory in a decisive 5-2 bout, winning the match for Columbia with a narrow overall lead of 14-13.

The women’s sabre team won a similarly close 5-4 match against the Quakers, courtesy of a 5-3 win from junior Tamar Gordon in the eighth bout of the match.

Women’s foil continued its trend of domination, winning the first four bouts of the match consecutively. The team ended the match with a score of 7-2, only losing tight 5-4 bouts.

Unfortunately for the Light Blue, the women’s épée team opened the competition with a slow start and could not recover their efforts. The Lions tied the match at 3-3, but were ultimately unable to pull into the lead, ending the match 5-4. The women’s team finished the round with an overall 16-11 win against the Quakers.

In their second round, the Lions faced Haverford College. The men’s sabre team dominated their match with a final score of 9-0 against the Black Squirrels, but the men’s foil squad started off slowly, losing their first bout of the match. However, they quickly recovered, only dropping one more bout and winning the match with an impressive final score of 7-2. Men’s épée secured Columbia the overall win, only dropping one bout to Haverford and finishing 8-1. The men’s team won the round with an overwhelming victory of 24-3.

The women’s team bulldozed the Black Squirrels, ending the round with an impressive final score of 27-0.

For their third matchup of the day, the Lions faced off against Pennsylvania State University. The men’s team defeated the Nittany Lions 16-11, despite a 6-3 loss from the sabre squad. Foil was able to make up some ground with a strong 5-4 victory, but it was the épée squad that secured the team victory with a dominant 8-1 record. Senior épéeist Ethan Kushnerik and first-year épéeist Luka Loncar both went undefeated to help clinch the win.

The women’s team had a more dominant 21-6 win against the hosts, with winning records from all three squads. The épée squad earned a 6-3 win with an undefeated performance from senior épéeist Mina Yamanaka. The sabre squad did slightly better with a 7-2 victory and a 3-0 run from junior sabre fencer Madison Four-Garcia. Foil stood tall with an 8-1 triumph thanks to undefeated showings from junior foil fencer Evelyn Cheng and Zander Rhodes.

Both the men’s and women’s teams improved their records against Wagner College, with the men winning 21-6 and the women winning 23-4. The men’s foil squad, composed of junior Bogdan Hamilton, senior Zachary Zusin, and sophomore Ethan Xiao, stood out with a undefeated 9-0 sweep. The sabre squad had an impressive 7-2 showing, and the épée squad rounded out the victory with a 5-4 win, assisted by another undefeated performance from Kushnerik.

The women’s foil squad secured victory with an undefeated 9-0 trouncing of Wagner, this time with the grouping of Cheng, Rhodes, and senior foil fencer Vivian Zheng. The sabre squad had a near-perfect 8-1 victory, supported by undefeated runs from Four-Garcia and Gordon. The épée squad also earned a strong 6-3 victory, with a 3-0 sweep from sophomore épéeist Janet Chen.

The men’s team capped off the meet with a hard-fought victory of 15-12 against the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Despite a tough 2-7 loss from the sabre squad, the foil trio stepped up with a crucial 6-3 win to keep the team in contention. Stellar performances by Kushnerik and Liverant, who both maintained perfect records, propelled the épée team to a commanding 7-2 victory, sealing the Lions’ triumph.

The women’s team delivered an impressive performance against UNC, finishing with a commanding 19-8 overall record. The sabre squad kicked things off with a solid 6-3 victory that set the tone for the day. The foil squad followed with a flawless shutout performance, solidifying their dominance. Although the épée team narrowly fell 5-4, the strong results from the other squads secured the Lions’ decisive win.

In its final matchup of the day, the women’s team cruised to a 20-7 victory over Temple University. Both the sabre and épée squads claimed 6-3 wins, limiting their opponents’ scoring opportunities. The foil squad stole the show with an outstanding 8-1 performance, putting the finishing touch on another impressive win for the Light Blue.

The Lions will return to the strip Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at Wagner College for the Brian Palestis Memorial Invitational.