Crimson Fencers Fall to Tigers: Harvard Loses Third Ivy Match

The varsity fencing team came close but could not win more than two bouts at foil, and so lost its third Ivy League match to Princeton, 16-11. Saturday afternoon.

Unlike the Penn match the previous week which Harvard lost 20-7, the Crimson battled the Tiger's halfway into the final round. Three Crimson losses at the foil in that round clinched the Princeton victory and squelched Harvard's chances for an upset.

Only Three Won

At the end of the first round Harvard found itself down 3-6. Larry Ceirulo, Tom Keller and John Reitz were the only Crimson fencers to win a bout. The rest of the team did poorly, and it looked as if Harvard was going to do even worse than it had done against Penn.

Two victories in the saber at the start of the second round sparked the Crimson. Keller won a close match in the foil, 5-4. Reitz and Mark Irvings, both won their epee bouts, 5-3, and Eliot Hurwitz nearly won his match before finally losing, 5-4.

At the end of the round. Harvard was only two bouts behind Princeton and needed to win six bouts in the final round to pull off an upset.

Saber Wielder Downed

Rick Tolbert and Cetrulo won sloppy bouts at saber. Cetrulo questioned a couple of calls and Tolbert ended his bout with a charge that netted his touch, a tackle, and a win, as his Tiger opponent failed to move out of the way and was knocked to the ground.

But then the foilers lost three. Gil Castle dropped his bout. 5-1. Keller lost, 5-4, after coming from behind with 22 seconds left to momentarily tie the score at 4-4. Cliff Ruderman had to get a touch to tie his bout before time ran out. but could not make it. His loss sealed the defeat.

At epee. Reitz swept his third bout, but the rest of the Crimson epee team lost.