M., W. Fencers Skewer Away

This year was a success for the Harvard men's and women's fencing teams in different ways.

The women's team, consisting of only sophomores and freshmen, went undefeated for the first time in Harvard's history. And although the men did not enjoy as much success as a team, the squad did produce an NCAA qualifier.

The Women

In addition to its first-ever undefeated season, three fencers qualified for the NCAA Championships, based on their strong performances in the regionals.

Sophomore Sara Crasson and freshman Jill Katz qualified in the foil division. The other qualifier, freshman Mallory Stewart, represented Harvard in the epee division, which the women's team had never competed in before.

Crasson finished 22nd in the NCAA's while Katz and Stewart each finished 19th in their respective divisions.

Crasson, who was named First Team All Ivy League, was very pleased with the season.

"I really enjoyed the season," Crasson said. "Our entire team dedicated itself to the season, and we were very successful. We achieved all of the goals that we set for ourselves."

Also joining Crasson on the All Ivy first team was sophomore captain Viktoria Danics. In addition to Crasson and Danics, Katz earned second team honors.

Sophomore Brindisi Chan summed up the season succinctly.

"We were very pleased with the season," Chan said." "We have never been undefeated before."

The Men

The men's season was not quite as successful. The Crimson finished eighth out of 13 teams in the Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA).

The IFA is composed of five Ivy League teams--Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Brown and Columbia--and eight other teams from the Northeast.

Harvard's lone NCAA qualifier was senior Kwame Van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen, competing in the foil division, finished first in regionals and sixth in the NCAAs.

Van Leeuwen was also awarded First Team All Ivy League honors. Joining Van Leeuwen as All Ivy was Paul Baez, who was named to the second team.

In addition to being named All-Ivy, Van Leeuwen won the Most Outstanding Fencer Award, an Honor given to the best fencer in the nation. Van Leeuwen also won that award his freshman year.

Ironically, Van Leeuwen finished first in the NCAAs last year but did not win the award again. Despite his decline to No. 6 this year, Van Leeuwen was only slightly disappointed.

"Personally, the season was kind of a disappointment," Van Leeuwen said. "But I am pleased with the consistency that I ended my career with. I think that I have had a successful four years and can be pleased with my career here at Harvard."

This year was the first year that the Crimson did not compete as a team in the NCAAs, so the squad did not receive a team ranking.

Captain Peter Tang was not too disappointed with the season, given the circumstances that Harvard student-athletes have to deal with.

"I think it was a pretty good season," Tang said. "Especially considering that at Harvard we have to really balance our fencing with our academics."

Van Leeuwen agreed.

"As a team, we had a modest season," he said. "But we did have a young team, and that is to be expected. Hopefully the team can build on this for next year."