The Columbia fencing teams achieved a perfect record at the Western Invitational, held at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado from November 22-23. Over two days of competition, the men’s and women’s squads combined for 17 wins without a loss.
The men’s team recorded victories over Air Force and UC San Diego twice each, as well as wins against Stanford, Incarnate Word, Brandeis, and Ohio State. This performance improved their season record to 11-0. The women’s team remained undefeated at 12-0 after defeating Northwestern, Stanford, Tufts, Air Force, Incarnate Word, Denison, Brandeis, and Ohio State.
Individual performances were notable throughout the tournament. Will Morrill went undefeated with a 15-0 record in men’s sabre while Nick Harvey finished 16-2 in the same weapon. Sasha Bezrodnov posted a 14-2 mark in men’s epee. In men’s foil, Marsel Nagimov and Caleb Jeon both finished with records of 10-3.
On the women’s side, Tamar Gordon won all her matches in sabre for a perfect 17-0 result. Four fencers reached double-digit wins in foil; Rachael Kim led with a 15-1 mark. All five women’s epeeists contributed strong results including Nicole Xuan’s 15-3 effort and Tierna Oxenreider’s 11-1 record.
The women’s team began Saturday with a decisive win over Northwestern (22-5), followed by victories against Stanford (18-9) and UC San Diego (23-4). The men’s squad opened with a commanding win over Stanford (24-3) before defeating UC San Diego (23-4).
Both teams continued their winning streaks through subsequent rounds: the men defeated Incarnate Word (22-5) while the women overcame Tufts (21-6). Columbia also secured wins against Air Force—men (21-6), women (24-3)—and closed Saturday with further victories over Brandeis for the men (18-9) and Incarnate Word for the women (25-2).
On Sunday, Columbia maintained momentum as the men beat Air Force again (18-9) and the women topped Denison (22-5). In one of their closest contests of the weekend, Columbia’s men edged out UC San Diego by one point (14–13), relying on narrow wins in sabre and foil.
In their final matchup against Ohio State—the toughest challenge for Columbia’s men—they trailed late but rallied to tie before two-time All-American Samarth Kumbla secured victory with a narrow win in foil. The women’s team concluded its tournament run by defeating Ohio State convincingly (20–7).
Columbia fencing will return to competition on December 7 at Wagner College during the Brian Palestis Memorial event on Staten Island.
For more updates on Columbia fencing programs visit GoColumbiaLions.com or follow @CULionsFencing on social media.
