Columbia Downs Swordswomen, 15-1, Deals Terrible Blow to Harvard Hopes

This was supposed to have been the year that the Harvard women's fencing team would finally challenge perennial champion Columbia. The Lions lost two-time national champion Katy Bilodeaux, and the Crimson swordswomen--a team which failed to win an Ivy game in its first four seasons--were fielding an experienced squad with a pair of three and two-year starters.

Instead, it was, as Captain Penelope Papailias said "the worst day of my fencing career." The swordswomen fell to Columbia, 15-1, Saturday in Manhattan.

"It was our first away meet of the season," Papailias said. "We hadn't had any big competition, and we weren't ready for a team like Columbia. The scores definitely don't reflect what kind of team we are."

The men's team (3-2 overall) was also defeated by Columbia, 20-7, Saturday. The weekend was not a total loss. Both squads regained a measure of dignity on Sunday by deftly defeating Brown, MIT, and Stanford.

"We could have done better," junior Tri-Captain Paul Pottinger "But at least we did twice as well as last year. Columbia is definitely our toughest competitor."

Injuries hampered the Crimson effort. Foiler Arthur Phillips, who had moved up to replace injured Tri-Captain Jim Rothwell, sprained his wrist in the first bout and had to be replaced by freshman Chris Okumura.

Senior Adam Weintraub led the Crimson, posting a 2-1 record in the epee division. Epee and sabre were each 3-6 overall, while foil finished 2-7.

Both teams stabbed at sweet victory on Sunday, sweeping to three victories apiece. The swordsmen edged Brown, 14-13, MIT, 15-12, and Stanford, 14-13.

"We by no means beat [Brown] easily," Pottinger said. "MIT is our long-standing enemy. We displayed a lot of good fencing."

The swordswomen (5-1 overall) also rebounded from their disappointing loss to pick up a trio of victories.

"When the pressure got on," Papailias said, "we fenced like we usually fence."

The Crimson, which won its first two matches by scores of 16-0, returned to its old form, piercing Brown 14-2. Harvard followed that victory with a 10-6 win over MIT.

East-West

But the most satisfying stab of the day was when the teams beat Stanford in suspenseful matches. In the first meeting of West vs. East, tensions and expectations were high against the undefeated Stanford squads.

"I was pleased with our performances," Pottinger said, "especially considering Stanford's record."

The fencers fed Stanford it's first defeat, 14-13.

The swordswomen, ranked in the East, pulled out a close 9-7 victory over the Cardinal.

"We'd fallen off a horse and we had to get back on," Papailias said.