Little Lu wins gold in Slovakia

Like the NFL figured out years ago, sometimes sports are better on Monday than they are on Sunday, even at the cost of an alliteration. Over the short Thanksgiving break, many Lions skipped out on the tryptophan lull and traveled far and wide to compete. Men’s Basketball headed to San Francisco to play in the San Francisco Hilltop Challenge, walking away with a 1-1 after a win over Wayland Baptist. Wrestling also hit the road and picked up a win against Drexel at the ASICS Northeast Collegiate Duals in Troy, NY. The Lion who racked up the most frequent flier miles over the break, however, was undoubtedly freshman fencer Margaret Lu, who took the gold medal in the Bratislava Junior Foil World Cup. Yes, she went to Slovakia. And won.

Men’s Basketball (4-2):

Results:

San Francisco Hilltop Challenge

Wayland Baptist 75-63 (W)

San Francisco 59-79 (L)

Overview: After toppling Big East power Villanova on Tuesday, the Lions headed to the Bay Area to take on Wayland Baptist and San Francisco at the San Francisco Hilltop Challenge. In their opening game against Wayland Baptist, the Lions fell behind early, but claimed the lead with just over ten minutes left in the half. Columbia widened the gap to ten points before the break thanks to two three pointers, the first from freshman Maodo Lo and then later from senior Brian Barbour with under three minutes left on the clock. Barbour opened the second half like he finished the first, hitting a three and keeping Wayland Baptist at bay. The Lions led by as much as 19 points as they went on to win their opening game of the trip 75-63. Senior Mark Cisco tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and freshman Grant Mullins added 14 points in the win.

In the second game against host USF, the Lions fell victim to Dons star De’End Parker, who scored a whopping 31 points to make it the end of Columbia’s SF trip. Columbia suffered from turnovers and low field goal percentage throughout the game as USF mounted a 10-point lead late in the first half and entered the break ahead 40-27. The Lions continued to struggle against Parker and the Dons, falling behind by as much as 21 points and losing 59-79.

Up Next: The Lions take a shorter trip to BK to take on LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday at 7 pm.

 

Women’s Basketball (1-4):

Results:

Morgan State 51-60 (L)

Overview: After picking up their first win against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Lions took on Morgan Sate on Friday, coming up just short despite a strong effort. Senior guard Brittany Simmons kept Columbia in the game early on, scoring the Lions first seven points to keep them within one point at 8-7. The back-and-forth battle continued through the first half, ending with Morgan State up 26-24 at the break. In the second half, the Lions put together a four point lead with just over 7 minutes to go thanks to two buckets from sophomore center Lizzy Stachon. However, Morgan State pulled ahead late in the half and went on to win 60-51.

Up Next: The Lions head to West Point on Wednesday, facing the Army at 7 pm.

 

Wrestling:

Results:

ASICS Northeast Collegiate Duals

#16 Maryland 10-27 (L)

Rutgers 6-30 (L)

Drexel 26-9 (W)

Overview: The Lions came away with one win at the ASICS Northeast Collegiate Duals this weekend in Troy, NY. In their first matchup against #16 Maryland, Columbia fell behind 10-0, but came back with two victories from undefeated Lion seniors Jake O’Hara and Steve Santos in the 157 and 149-pound matches. Columbia also secured a win in the 165-pound bout, but fell 27-10 to the Terps. Rutgers proved to be another formidable opponent as the Lions picked up only two wins in the contest from Santos and fellow senior Nick Mills at 197 pounds. In the final contest against Drexel, the Lions turned the tide, winning seven of ten matches to claim the victory. Among the Lions to claim wins were freshman Joe Moita at 133 pounds, O’Hara at 157 pounds, and Santos in his 11th straight win of the season.

Up Next: The Lions break until 12/29 when they head to Illinois for Midlands.

 

Fencing:

Results:

Gold, Bratislava Junior Foil World Cup

Overview: Freshman Margaret Lu claimed her second straight Junior Foil World Cup title in Slovakia this weekend, winning gold in a field of 134 competitors. Lu battled her way past a number of quality fencers from around the world on her way to gold, including an Italian girl who won the silver in the last Junior World Cup in the table of 16. In the gold medal round, Lu finished up the tournament by beating a Russian fencer 15-10.

 

Final Ivy League Standings and Honors

Football – 6th Place (2-5)

Marcorus Garrett CC’14 (First-Team All-Ivy), Josh Martin CC’13 (First-Team All-Ivy), Zach Olinger CC’14 (Second-Team All-Ivy), Mike Waller CC’13 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)

Volleyball – 2nd Place (9-5)

Megan Gaughn CC’13 (First-Team All-Ivy, Unanimous Selection), Heather Braunagel CC’13 (First-Team All-Ivy), Caitlin Brenton CC’15 (Second-Team All-Ivy)

Men’s Soccer – 5th Place (2-3-2)

Quentin Grigsby CC’13 (Second-Team All-Ivy), David Najem CC’14 (Second-Team All-Ivy), Antonio Matarazzo CC’16 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy), Henning Sauerbier CC’14 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy), Kyle Jackson CC’16 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)

Women’s Soccer – 5th Place (2-4-1)

Isabel King CC’13 (First-Team All-Ivy), Beverley Leon CC’14 (Second-Team All-Ivy), Catherine Troup CC’15 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy), and Grace Redmon CC’15 (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)

Field Hockey – 3rd Place (4-3)

Katie DeSandis CC’15 (First-Team All-Ivy; Second-Team All-Mideast Region), Gabby Kozlowski CC’13 (First-Team All-Ivy; First-Team All-Mideast Region), Bridget DeSandis CC’13 (Second-Team All-Ivy), and Paige Simmons CC’13 (Second-Team All-Ivy)

*Ivy League honors will come out this week