On Saturday, November 18, the men’s and women’s fencing teams attended the Columbia Invitational at Columbia University, where both teams faced tough challenges against their nationally ranked opponents.
The men’s team fell to Columbia 21-6 and to Johns Hopkins 22-5. Columbia is currently ranked second in the nation by the United States Fencing Coaches Association and Johns Hopkins is ranked second in Division III. The setbacks dropped Stevens’ record to 7-9 heading into the final event of the fall semester.
Despite the challenge, many fencers showed impressive skill on the strip. First-year epeeist Noah Tumibay, graduate student sabreur Dylan Woodward, and sophomore foilist Nick Reznick each posted two wins for the Ducks. Juniors Rocco Matthews, Nicholas Smith, Colin Mahoney, and graduate student Patrick Pan each won against Columbia Lions to finish out the meet. Against Hopkins, Reznick posted both of his wins, while Woodward, first-year Cyrus Erachshaw and junior John Morreale each won once.
“I was really happy with the way the guys fought today,” said head coach Jim Carpenter. “We fenced two of the tougher teams in the country and we got a number of solid, quality wins.”
The women’s team fought hard against Columbia and Johns Hopkins, falling 22-5 and 18-9 respectively on Saturday. The weekend leaves the Ducks with an 11-9 record as they enter their 2024 campaign. First-year epeeists Grace Hicks and Zoya Duarte-Garcia each won three times to lead the team. Senior Alana Schmitt (sabre) and junior Arianna Daringa (sabre) each won twice for the Ducks.
Against Johns Hopkins, the Ducks fell 5-4 in epee, a narrow margin and an impressive feat against the ranked Division III team. Daringa and junior Alyssa Ip accounted for the Ducks’ victories across the two weapons. Junior Sofia Savchuk earned a win at foil to account for the Ducks’ victories on the day.
On Sunday, November 19, the men’s team rounded out their 2023 campaign with the first MACFA event of the year in New York City in an event hosted by Hunter College. The Ducks finished with a 3-2 record, with junior Mahoney finishing with eight wins and junior Morreale and graduate student Woodward winning seven bouts. Senior Erik Marran and first-years Tumibay and Kyle Stamis each one six times for Stevens. The team defeated Lafayette College, Rutgers University, and Rowan University, and fell to Cornell College and Drew University. Both losses came down to a single point on the strips. Patrick Pan went 3-3 on Sunday, earning his 100th career win.
The women’s team will return to the strips in 2024, heading to the annual Eric Sollee Invitational, hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
