Men's, women's fencing travels to Columbia to duel Ivy League's best

At the end of this week, with the pressure of exams alleviated, most Princeton students will be leaving campus to go home, to visit friends or, for the more adventurous, to travel the world far and wide. The Princeton fencing team, however, will be spending this snowy Intersession on campus, practicing, bonding and preparing for one of the most important matches of its season.

"It is probably the hardest practicing we do in order to get back into shape after exams and to get ready for next meet," junior foil Scott Sherman said.

The team will be taking the Intersession practices particularly seriously considering that on Jan. 31 the Tigers travel to New York to face Columbia, the toughest team in the Ivy League. Though Rutgers and St. John's, two formidable opponents, will also be present at the meet, the Tigers are focusing on defeating the Lions.

Princeton most recently defeated Stevens and New Jersey Institute of Technology. In those matches, the women shut out NJIT in both foil and sabre, while the men blanked Stevens in foil. The success against these local rivals has given the Tigers much confidence, sorely needed after a sluggish start against some of the nation's best teams. After a long examination period, Princeton resumes its fencing season, which reaches its height in February and culminates with NCAAs in March.

But for now, Princeton has the Lions to focus on. Columbia, which, at fifth place, finished one place higher than Princeton in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, has enough talent and depth to match the Tiger lineup. In their latest meet against Stanford, the Lions dominated the strip as fencers of all years stepped up and carried the team. Columbia also made an impressive showing at the USFA North American Cup recently, with four sophomores placing in the top 20.

The Lions' depth will be a challenge to the Princeton squad. A fairly young team, the Tigers are looking for breakthrough performances from both its younger fencers and its veterans. And, though the underclassmen had no problem demonstrating their talent against NJIT and Stevens last Saturday, Columbia is in an entirely different ballpark.

"You can't win the Ivy League without beating Columbia," Sherman said. "They're going to be very good, and if we want to beat them, everyone on our team is going to have to fence exceptionally well."

The last time the Tigers faced Columbia, Princeton lost by a narrow score of 14-13. Additionally, many of the bouts that were lost were very close, often ending in 5-4 scores. The two teams, which have traditionally dominated the Ivy League, will be a tough challenge to one another, and the pendulum could certainly swing either way.

Making it even more interesting will be the fact that almost all of the standouts from the 2003 NCAA Tournament on both teams will be returning this year. Many of them were successful as freshmen and sophomores, and, coming back with another year of fencing under their belts, they should make this match a demonstration of some of the best fencing in the nation.

Columbia returns current sophomore phenom Emma Barratta, as well as juniors Nico Jaspers, Jeremy Sinkin and Paul Reyfman. After carrying the team to a fifth place national ranking last season, Barratta and Jaspers earned second team All-American, while Reyfman and Sinkin received honorable mention honors.

Not to be outdone, however, the Tigers will be meeting the Lions with their own powerhouses. Sophomore epee Ben Solomon, who was Princeton's highest finisher last year, is looking for another strong season. Fellow sophomores Jacqueline Leahy and Eleanor Leighton, as well as junior Catherine Pack, also hope to repeat their spectacular performances of 2003.

The Princeton fencers are looking forward to using this opportunity to practice and prepare. They are confident that with the right mentality, they have the talent to defeat Columbia.

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As junior foil and co-captain Inhwa Song said, "Columbia is probably going to be our biggest challenge within the Ivy League schools, but we are confident that we can do well with the right mindset."