W. Fencers Nipped

They came close. Awfully close.

The women's fencing team came within one bout of upsetting a heavily-favored Columbia team, but when the final match was over, the score read 9-7--and Harvard was on the losing end.

Considering the opponent, team members said they were at least satisfied with their performance.

"That's certainly as well as I expected us to do," Harvard's Amy Neuhardt said.

Neuhardt, along with Penelope Papailias and Kristina Perkin all finished with 2-2 records. Michelle Kosch finsished at 1-3.

Still, the fencers said they were disappointed that they could not pull the upset.

"I would have liked to have done better," Neuhardt said. "We had a chance to win."

The fencers now take a break from competitive play until next semester. From there, Neuhardt said, the outlook is good.

"I only see one more really tough match, and that's the University of Pennsylvania," Neuhardt said. "I really think we'll have a good season."