In collegiate fencing, a sport where teams need to win at least 14 out of the 27 bouts in a meet to claim victory, a 13-8 lead is seemingly insurmountable.
That’s the edge Columbia men’s fencing team had over Penn State on Sunday afternoon in the White Building. The Columbia women had already defeated the Nittany Lions, 16-11, and Columbia’s men — ranked No. 1 in the NCAA and reigning back-to-back collegiate champions — needed to win just one of their six remaining bouts to secure triumph in the marquee matchup of the day.
After Penn State picked up wins in its final three foil bouts to push the score to 13-11, it was up to the sabre team to keep hopes alive.