Fencing finished its regular season last Wednesday, hosting the George Kolombatovich Historical Meet. With six victories to close out their campaign, the Lions ended the season with a 33-2 record for the women’s team and a 29-3 record for the men.

Columbia first took the strip against New York University. Men’s sabre began the match by trading bout wins with NYU. The Lions fought back from down 4-3 to tie the match to 4-4 in the eighth bout. First-year Will Morrill sealed the Lions’ victory in the final bout of the match with a 5-3 win to take the match.

Men’s foil faced similar challenges against NYU: They began the match trading the first four bouts 2-2. However, the Lions quickly recovered, winning four bouts in a row and guaranteeing a match victory for Columbia with a final score of 6-3.

Men’s épée initially struggled against NYU, losing the first three bouts of the match, but senior Peter Ko changed the tides. He won Columbia’s fourth bout of the match, sparking a winning streak for Columbia, which took two more bouts in a row and tied NYU. However, the épée squad could not overcome the Violets’ strong start and lost the match with a tight final score of 5-4.

Despite the loss in épée, the men’s team was able to pull an overall team victory over the Violets with a final score of 15-12.

The women’s sabre team found success on the strip in their first round against NYU. While they initially traded bouts, winning the first but dropping the second, they dominated the rest of the match. They won five bouts in a row and secured a decisive match victory for the Lions with a final overall score of 7-2.

The women’s foil team had a strong start as well, winning its first two bouts. Despite a 5-0 loss in the third bout of the match, the squad reclaimed control, going on to secure three bout victories in a row with junior Alanna Xue clinching a Light Blue victory 5-2. This cemented the overall win for the Lions, 7-2.

Women’s épée also dominated in its match against NYU. Despite losing the first bout, the Lions battled back, winning eight straight bouts against the Violets. This impressive performance secured the team victory for women’s fencing with a final overall score of 22-5.

In the second matchup of the day, both squads triumphed over Sacred Heart University.

The men had a razor thin margin of victory, eking out a 14-13 win. The épée squad particularly suffered in this round, losing all but one bout for a 1-8 record. The other squads made up for this: Sabre claimed a 6-3 record as senior Zachary Zusin, typically a foil fencer, went 3-0 for saber.

The foil squad solidified the team win with a 7-2 victory. Both sophomore Ethan Xiao and junior Bogdan Hamilton contributed undefeated records.

The women had a solid win in comparison, crushing the Pioneers in a 23-4 victory. All three squads came out on top, including a 6-3 victory for sabre and an undefeated showing from sophomore sabre fencer Chloe Szeto.

The foil squad had an even more dominant 8-1 victory, as Xue and junior foil fencer Alexandra Jing achieved perfect records. The épée squad also had an 8-1 victory to round out the bout, with senior épéeist Audrey Chu and first-year épéeist Sophia Jakel both having impressive 3-0 runs.

In the final matchup of the day, the men’s team swept in foil and épée against Vassar College.

The épée squad set the pace with a strong 6-3 showing, while the foil squad followed with a commanding 7-2 victory, highlighted by shutout performances from Xiao and senior Zach Binder. The sabre squad tied 5-5, and the team secured an overall 18-10 triumph.

The Lions asserted their dominance over Vassar College on the women’s side, sweeping all three weapons in a commanding 22-5 victory.

The sabre squad set the tone with a 7-2 win, highlighted by Szeto’s second shutout performance of the day. The épée squad matched that effort with a 7-2 record, led by first-year Carolina Stutchbury, who secured 3 points and shut out her opponent. The foil squad delivered the most decisive performance, overwhelming their opponent with an 8-1 victory behind flawless 3-0 records from junior Sofia Gaydos and sophomore Rachael Kim.

Columbia fencing closed its regular season on a high note: The women’s team received the Katy Bilodeau trophy for the third straight year, while the men claimed the Irving Martin Preschel trophy.

The Lions will return to the mat on Sunday, March 9, to compete at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Medford, Massachusetts. The competition will begin at 10:00 am.