Fencers Fail To Repeat, Finish 6th

A championship repeat was just not in the cards.

The Harvard fencing team entered the season as the unquestioned defending national champion, but came away with a sixth-place finish at the year-end NCAA Championships in Madison, N.J. this weekend. Senior captain Tim Hagamen led seven All-Americans for the Crimson with an individual title in the saber.

The finish is the second best in school history after last year’s national championship season.

After regional competition, Harvard qualified just nine fencers for nationals, a number mathematically insufficient to allow the team to repeat. But two at-large bids later, the Crimson looked to have a shot at the nation’s strongest 12-person teams—Penn State, St. John’s, and Columbia.

The Nittany Lions’ 194 wins blew the competition away, easily surpassing second-place St. John’s (176). Columbia (169), Notre Dame (160), and Ohio State (144) rounded out the top five. Harvard finished sixth with 123.

“The field in general was probably the strongest I’ve seen in the last five or six years, especially with Penn State,” Crimson coach Peter Brand said. “The depth of their roster was something I have not seen in quite a long time. In each weapon, in each event, they had literally a world-class fencer.”

Hagamen locked up his first individual medal in New Jersey by winning 19 of 22 bouts, beating out the second and third-place finishers by just one victory.

The final bout could not have been closer. The Crimson’s captain beat out Notre Dame’s Patrick Ghattas, 15-14, to become just the fourth men’s fencer to win an individual medal in Harvard history and the first in the saber. Hagamen ends his Crimson career with three All-America finishes.

“Tim is just one of the most remarkable athletes, but more importantly great team members,” said senior epee fencer Jasmine McGlade. “He’s worked so hard both in his individual training and as a captain. He really motivates everyone. We were all really hoping he would win.”

The men finished off their piece of the competition in seventh place.

Beyond Hagamen, two others stepped up to a new level.

Junior epee fencer Teddy Sherrill posted his first-ever All-America performance with a 10th-place finish, while senior foil fencer Enoch Woodhouse also made the top 10 to earn his second all-America finish and first since his freshman year.

“My hat’s off especially to Enoch,” Brand said. “This year, he doubled his efforts. Considering it’s his senior year, where he’s starting to go into the next phase of his life, the fact that he was able to work hard and really commit himself this year is impressive.”

The men’s two additional fencers, senior saber Dan Sachs and sophomore foil Kai Itameri-Kinter, both placed 15th individually.

The Crimson women also boasted some strong finishes in the form of four All-Americans.

The female epee fencers, so instrumental to the squad’s success throughout the season, faced one of the toughest fields of competition in the tournament. McGlade and sophomore Maria Larsson finished eighth and 11th, respectively, good enough for each fencer’s second career All-America placement.

“I was very happy, especially since the first day was pretty tough,” McGlade said. “Then basically the second day I focused more than I ever had before in my four years. The past few tournaments for me have been my best at Harvard. It was the best way to go out.”

Freshman Misha Goldfeder debuted strongly in the national competition, fencing her way into 10th place in the foil. Junior Alexa Weingarden also posted her first All-American showing with an 11th-place finish in saber.

Freshman foilist Arielle Pensler finished 17th, with junior captain and saber fencer Samantha Parker placing 23rd.

Although the men’s team will take a rather large hit next year by losing Hagamen, Woodhouse, and Sachs to graduation, Brand believes that the return of fencers and the addition new recruits will bolster the women’s roster.

“It’s very difficult to replace that many people graduating in strong positions,” Brand said. “Next year I see as a rebuilding year. But on the women’s side I think we may get stronger.”

Either way, Brand’s juggernaut is here to stay. With another strong finish at nationals, the Crimson fencing team has set a precedent: it will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.