Snapping the Big Ivy Oh-Fer

The Harvard women's fencing team got its first taste of Ivy success last season.

After going oh-for-four-years in Ivy competition, the Crimson won its first-ever Ivy league contest with a victory over Cornell last winter.

And while one Ivy win doesn't make a championship, it's at least a start. The squad is hoping for even better results this season.

"We have a good team," sophomore Captain Penelope Papailas said. "At times [last year], we were a little flaky. This year we are stronger and tougher mentally."

Papailas, a Second-Team All-Ivy pick, returns along with sophomore Kristina Perkin to lead the team.

The Crimson began its season with a 15-1 rout of Trinity Monday, followed by a squeaker, 10-6, over MIT and an 11-5 victory over Brandeis.

"We got to see how the freshmen fence," Perkin said, "and exactly what we need to work on."

The freshmen have been impressive, Perkin said. The '90 duo of Michelle Kosch and Amy Neuhardt have nabbed the other two spots in the starting line-up alongside Papailas and Perkin.

While the Crimson has had a tough time in the Ivy League, it has compiled a winning mark (well over 60 percent) against non-league foes. Harvard has a 62-37 all-time record against non-Ivy foes, but is only 1-19 in the Ivy League.

"I think it's because the Ivy league has some of the strongest fencing teams," Papailas said. "Columbia, Penn and Yale are almost unbeatable."

A potentially sour note for Harvard is the uncertainty surrounding former assistant Coach Zoran Tulum. The Yugoslav fencer worked with the Crimson as a volunteer a year ago, but has been unable to attain a visa to return to the United States this year.

"There was great improvement in the team [when he was helping us]," Perkin said. "We needed extra attention and there was a second coach."

But hopes are still high. "We have never had a losing season [overall]," Kosch said, "and I don't think we should expect anything less."