M. Fencing Beats Tufts; Both Drop to Lions

Hosting both Columbia and Tufts on Saturday, the Harvard fencing teams both fell to Ivy foe Columbia, while the men polished off Tufts.

The Harvard men (1-3) easily defeated Tufts 22-5, but dropped to Columbia 20-7.

The Crimson women (2-1) lost to Columbia, 18-9. They face Tufts in February.

Despite the split this weekend, the men gave a solid showing in the foil. They beat Tufts 8-1 in this event, and managed to capture two bouts against a fierce Lion squad.

Columbia boasts a strong foil team, with three nationally ranked fencers.

Among the Crimson, sophomore Mark E. Lee shined, capturing the two foil matches for Harvard. He defeated two nationally ranked Lions--junior Jed Dupree and junior captain Raphael Bruckner.

Dupree is among the five best in the country and a likely selection to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

"I went into the matches thinking that they were beatable," Lee said. "I think that they might have underestimated me."

The men followed up the Columbia loss with an impressive romp of Tufts, 22-5.

"We were really pumped up for Tufts after the loss," Lee said. "We focused on fencing cleanly."

In both foil and epee competitions, Harvard claimed eight bouts. In sabre, it hung on for a 6-3 advantage.

The Crimson women also turned in solid foil and epee performances despite the nationally ranked competition that they faced. They lost 3-6 in both divisions.

Crimson junior Emily Katz took two bouts from Columbia in foil. Freshman teammate Sian Kleindienst captured two victories in sabre.

The sabre has been a concern for both Harvard teams. Going into the weekend, the men were 3-15 in sabre action. The women were only slightly better at 4-14.

However, the women showed promise this weekend, competing well in the sabre division against the more experienced Columbia squad.

This is the first year the sabre is a NCAA recognized event for women's fencing.

"We are really proud of our sabres," junior captain Elizabeth Aranow said. "They won three bouts against a strong Columbia team."

But Columbia proved why it is a perennial powerhouse, dominating both the Crimson and Tufts overall.

"We have some world class fencers," Harvard Coach Peter Brand said. "But we need to be deeper."

Columbia, along with Penn, recruits fencers most aggressively among the Ivies.

Still, with Harvard's respectable performance this weekend, the future looks promising.

"We have expanded our recruiting efforts to match the other Ivy's," Brand said. "So far, we have some great prospects this year."

The Crimson men's decisive Tufts victory shows the Crimson's potential to fence cleanly and confidently. As well, the women's performance against a stronger, more experience Columbia squad is impressive.

This is Brand's first year as coach. Coming from Brown, he is excited by the long, successful history of Harvard fencing which traces its history back to 1889. He is only the fourth Crimson coach since 1931.

"We have a world class facility and some great fencers," he said.

The Crimson returns to action on January 29th facing Boston College.

"We need to stay focused, despite the two month break," Aranow said. "We have a tough spring ahead; we are shooting for NCAA's."