Crimson Teams Split With Lions

At the New York University (NYU) Invitational on Saturday, the Harvard men’s fencing team vanquished an old rival and climbed to No. 3 in the national rankings, while the women’s team fared well until facing Penn State.

In this five-team tournament in the Big Apple, the reigning NCAA National Champion men’s team went 5-0, defeating NYU 20-7, Rutgers 17-10, UNC 21-6, and Penn State 14-13. The women’s team routed the Violets 24-3, the Scarlet Knights 23-4, and the Tar Heels 22-5, before falling to the Nittany Lions 19-8.

For both the men and the women, Penn State, a perennial national powerhouse, presented the biggest challenge. Although the Nittany Lions looked to avenge last year’s 14-13 loss, the team fell a maddening one point short again. With the match in a 13-13 deadlock, both teams watched in suspense as junior epee fencer Benji Ungar’s final bout clinched a Crimson win.

The rest of the men’s squad followed Ungar’s example, proving instrumental in defeating the Nittany Lions. It never lost a match all day, posting a stellar 12-0 record in the tournament.

“They basically carried the men’s program all the way through all day,” Harvard coach Peter Brand said.

Penn State proved too much for the women’s team, defeating the Crimson by a comfortable 19-8 margin.

But Harvard’s fencers were quick to point out the likelihood of history repeating itself.

“We actually lost to them last year, and we still managed to win nationals by the end of the season,” captain Caitlan McLoon said. “I don’t think that a loss to them implies that they are going to beat us.”

Saturday marked junior Emily Cross’ first tournament absence since she withdrew from the team to train for the 2008 Olympic Games. Cross, a two-time junior world champion in the foil, was expected to represent a big loss to the squad.

Although Cross could not compete, she still made the trip to New York and mentored the freshmen as they entered their first major collegiate tournament.

“Even though she wasn’t fencing, she came to the match and helped to coach us,” said freshman foil fencer Anna Podolsky. “It was really nice that she is lending her experience to help us succeed in competition.”

But from the way that the freshman foil squad fared on Saturday, the Crimson’s ability to defend its national championship looks uncompromised. Artemisha Goldfeder, Arielle Pensler, and Anna Podolsky combined to shut out both Rutgers and UNC 9-0 and slice through NYU 8-1. Despite a frustrating loss to the Nittany Lions, the foils still managed a 5-4 record against Penn State.

“The freshmen fenced like veterans and that was what I was looking for,” Brand said.

As the women’s foils collectively made their presence felt, junior saber fencer Alexa Weingarden performed brilliantly, losing only one match all day in a bout against the Nittany Lions—to U.S. Senior National Team member Caitlin Thompson, ranked No. 4 in the world in saber.

“She was our top performer,” Brand said.

With their first big tournament behind them, both the men’s and women’s teams will face Brandeis on Thursday night.