Fencers Break the Ice

The Harvard women's fencing team slipped by the Princeton Tigers, 10-6, Saturday at Princeton to snag its first Ivy League victory of the season. However, the Crimson dropped its second meet later that day to Penn St., 10-6.

Harvard (5-3 overall, 1-2 Ivy) led the entire way against the Tigers, stalking to a 3-1 lead after round one. It only took the squad three rounds to secure the meet victory, with a Crimson win in the first bout of the third round proving decisive.

"We had never beaten Princeton, but we got it together enough to beat them," freshman Michelle Kosch said.

After triumph over the Tigers, the Crimson was edged by the Nittany Lions. In this match, Penn St. established itself in the second round. After an even first round (2-2), Harvard was trounced, 3-1, in the fatal second round to fall behind.

While the women salvaged a split, the men were slashed by both Princeton, 16-11, and Penn St., 19-8.

Princeton grabbed control early on, winning the first two rounds by 6-3 scores to take a 12-6 lead.

While Harvard rallied to win the final round, 5-4, it was not enough to pull out the victory as the swordsmen dropped their third consecutive Ivy League meet.