Crimson Fencers Destroy Brown, 15-12

Harvard's fencing team paved the way for a tough weekend schedule with three Ivy teams as a mixed varsity-junior varsity squad overcame a scrappy Brown team 15-12 at the IAB last night.

Captain Gordon Rutledge said after the match. "This was a lighthearted warmup before our next three meets which will put us into the heart of the season. The team looked proficient. However, we lost four in the sabre (5-4) because of a lack of concentration."

All-American

In the sabre, all-American Rutledge took both of his bouts. Despite the absence of the other all-American Phillippe Bennett, who is undefeated for the season, the team picked up three more bouts in the weapon from Larry Tu's 2-1 tally and John Major's 1-1 split.

In the foil the Crimson were the undisputed rulers as Nick Tepe. Larry White and freshman Eric Mandelbaum each won two bouts. White made a spectacular comeback in his first bout, rebounding from 4-1, a three touch deficit, to grab a 5-4 victory.

Also at foil, freshman John Chipman picked up a bout as he split 1-1 for the meet.

In the epee, the Crimson had a tough time, taking only three of the nine bouts.

John Herschfield missed both of his bouts as he went down 0-2 for the night. Matt Simmons picked up one as did Sam Anderson and John Barber, who fenced well in his only bout in the match.

The team score was 14-9 when the Harvard victory was captured.

The Crimson fencers face a strong threat today as they meet Cornell in the IAB at 4:00. Last year Cornell inched out the fencers 14-13 in Ithaca. Rutledge described today's match as a "revenge match against formidable competition."

The Crimson will meet Penn on Friday and finish off the all-Ivy weekend with a Saturday night Columbia match in New York.