Cornell Dumps Crimson Fencers, 15-12

Saturday was a day for sighing, at least as far as the Harvard fencing team was concerned. The Crimson met Cornell in an afternoon match at the IAB, and when it was over Harvard had lost its second Ivy contest in as many Saturdays, and kissed any chances for Ivy title contention goodbye for good, 15-12.

Harvard started slowly, losing the first round to the Big Red, 5-4, and dragged its feet the rest of the way as well. The Crimson did manage a brief flurry of resistance in the third round, taking five out of nine bouts, but by then it was too little and far too late.

Add to these woes the loss of standout epeeman Chris Jennings, suspended for the rest of the season by Crimson coach Edo Marion for skipping the match (and today's with Columbia) in favor of the qualifying trials for the U.S. Under 20 World Team, and the Harvard "season that could have been" has suddenly become the "year that never was."

The consistency of Crimson inconsistency reared its head once again against Cornell. The foil team, which on paper should have crushed the Big Red, completely folded, losing all but two of nine bouts. Howie Weiss gave the Crimson its only foil victories taking his first-round bout, 5-4, and his third-round contest, 5-3.

Looked Dominant

The sabre team, which had of late looked the dominating force it was a year ago, suffered a blunt setback, losing 5-4. And it would have been worse if Crimson captain Terry Valenzuela, who should be a shoo-in for All-Ivy honors, hadn't come up with an outstanding performance, winning three straight.

By far the biggest surprise of the day came in epee, where, without Jennings, Harvard did not expect much. However, freshman Eric Read, in his first varsity match won three straight, 5-4, 5-2, 5-3, and Ken Bartels, who has had his troubles this year, came close to duplicating Read's act, winning two out of three, and losing the third by one point, 5-4, after rallying from a 4-2 deficit. As a team, the epee men posted a 6-3 record against Cornell.

Today, with the memory of the weekend's disappointment still fresh in mind, Harvard takes on defending Ivy champ Columbia. The Lions again are a strong, polished and balanced team. It could be a long afternoon for the Crimson.