The men’s fencing team competed in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association Championships this past Sunday, sending nine fencers — three each in epee, foil and sabre — to contend for both team and individual titles across all weapons.
Lafayette College’s strongest showing came in the team epee event, where the Leopards placed fifth out of 14 teams with 26 wins in 38 bouts. At the B position, sophomore epee Ryan Liebowitz powered the lineup with 11 victories in 13 bouts. Senior epee Tyler Morse added eight wins in 13 bouts from the A position, while freshman epee Henry Cohen contributed seven wins in 12 bouts at C, combining to drive the epee team to its standout finish.
“Knowing that Ryan can perform that well at B and then step into the A spot really sets the team up in a great place next season,” Morse said.
The sabre squad placed eighth out of 14 teams, highlighted by winning records from sophomore sabres Jordan Ginsberg and Nikita Kogan. Ginsberg won seven of 12 bouts at the A position, while Kogan delivered eight victories out of 12 at B. Senior sabre Chris Rafferty rounded out the lineup at C, finishing one for 12.
“The A strip gets the most leeway in terms of qualifying, but you’re also going up against every other school’s A strip,” Ginsberg said. “I was just focused on my own footwork and my own fencing, because it’s never helped me to worry about what other people are doing.”
The foil squad finished tenth out of 14. Freshman foil William Nicoll managed five wins out of 13 at the A position, while freshman foil Ryan Kramer added four wins in 13 bouts at B. Freshman foil Owen Riley completed the lineup at C with a three-win performance out of 13.
Overall, the Leopards finished seventh out of 14, winning 58 of their 117 total bouts.
The men also competed individually within their weapon groups. In epee, Morse dominated his opening bout 15-6 and followed with a 15-11 win in the quarterfinals. A semifinal loss left him tied for third overall, the highest conference placement of his collegiate career.
“Since my freshman year, it’s been one of my goals to get into the top three here,” Morse said. “I just missed it freshman and sophomore year, and so finally being able to close that out was really wonderful.”
In individual sabre competition, Ginsberg secured a tie for third place, earning victories in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, including a 15-11 win over the top seed, before a semifinal defeat. Kogan delivered an impressive showing of his own, pushing No. 3 seed Langston Johnson of Cornell to the wire in a 15-13 round‑of‑16 battle, Johnson’s closest bout on his path to the conference title.
“Top three finish feels great,” Ginsberg said. “Really happy to improve upon my placement last year, and I hope this same trend continues for my junior and senior year.”
Sunday’s championship marked the Leopards’ first meet under head coach Christopher Spencer, who was hired on Feb. 18.
“It’s nice to have a coach there to tune up the little things, the things that he’ll be able to see that I can’t during a bout,” Morse said.
The Maroon and White will wrap up their season at the NCAA regionals on Saturday, sending seven fencers to compete.
“We’ve all been working really hard this week to close it out,” Morse said. “I’m excited to see what the team can do here.”
Dan Sullivan ‘27 contributed reporting.
Disclaimer: Assistant News Editor Makenna McCall ’27 is a member of the fencing team. She did not contribute writing or reporting.
Beer • Mar 6, 2026 at 11:23 am
An excellent article. I think this Benjamain Rudikoff guy has a lot of potential to really change the game!