The Lions women’s and men’s fencing teams both topped the Ivies this year, with the women winning the league title outright and the men sharing the trophy with Harvard and Penn. At the Ivy League championship tournament in February, the Lions women swept the competition, winning all six of their matches on the strength of dominant performances by freshman Sylvie Binder, junior Iman Blow, and sophomore Violet Michel. By winning thirteen of her fourteen bouts in the foil division, Binder came home with the 2018 women’s foil Ivy League individual championship. Blow went on to capture the NCAA women’s title in foil the next month.
The men’s fencing team pulled through dramatically in the final match of the Ivy League tournament, beating the formerly undefeated Penn squad to clinch a share of the title. They were led by freshman Sidarth Kumbla and sophomore Nolen Scruggs, both of whom were named first team All-Ivy.
The Columbia men’s squash team also had a stellar year, winning its first Ivy League title and finishing the season ranked third nationally — its best finish ever. Led by senior Osama Khalifa, the Ivy League player of the year for the third consecutive season, and freshman Velavan Senthilkumar, who, along with Khalifa, made the All-American first team, the Lions went 16–2 overall and 8–1 in league play.
