UNIVERSITY DROPS FENCING TOURNEY TO NAVY FOILSMEN

At the intercollegiate fencing championship held in New York on Thursday and Friday of last week, the University secured second place over Columbia by a margin of three bouts while the Navy with a 12 bout lead over the Crimson fencers clinched the title. In the novice tournament for the Clemens medal on Thursday, the University entries failed to place, but in the duelling swords competition that evening J. S. Barse '22 tied for second place. On the following day in the individual foils tournament, E. L. Lane '24, finishing third, was the only University entry to place.

In the intercollegiate foils tournament the University stood a poor fourth among the seven colleges competing at the end of the first night's fencing, but came back strongly on the next day to gain second place in spite of the loss of W. R. Brewster '22, the team's most experienced member, who was forced to withdraw after only four of his 18 bouts due to a sudden attack of illness. In his second bout Brewster nearly fell and though he completed two more bouts it was evident that he could not continue and E. H. Lane '24 took his place. Captain Burke Boyoe '22 and E. L. Lane '24 who started, continued to fence.

Navy Wins by Large Margin

The whole meet was marked by exceptionally hard fighting and many upsets. The Annapolis team, more experienced and more steady than any other on the floor, won the meet by one of the largest margins of recent years. Throughout the day and a half this team gave evidence of the ability which had stamped it throughout the season as one of the strongest teams that has ever represented the Naval Academy. And yet they were able to gain a victory from the clash with the University fencers only by the narrow margin of 5-4; every match with one exception being won or lost by a single touch. The victory was finally settled when Captain Boyce lost by one touch to Shears of the Navy team, who won the individual championship. E. L. Lane supplied the most sensational match when he finally defeated Becker, last year's champion captain and supposedly strongest man of the Navy forces, by a game, uphill fight from five touches behind.

Brewster's collapse put the University team at a distinct disadvantage, but it is doubtful if the Crimson could have passed the Navy even had he been able to stay in the line-up. For a while it looked like a close race between the two, but although the University could push the champions man to man, they could not gather as many bouts from the other teams. During the two days, out of a total of 54 contests which the team took part in, the Navy dropped but nine bouts, and it was this ability to win decisively from every team that put her team in first place.

The individual championships caused the greatest surprise of the intercollegiate fencing season. The title went to Shears of the Navy, who up to a week ago had been only a substitute. He defeated Becker, his captain, and took the championship from him by forcing him into second place. Boyce., Walker and Bencoe, captains of the Harvard, Yale, and Columbia foilsmen respectively, though expected to be Becker's chief opponents, failed to place. The captains of all the teams met on the first night and succeeded in eliminating each other effectively. None was strong enough to maintain a clean slate over the others and as a result each was credited with six or more defeats. E. L. Lane, by a plucky exhibition, fought his way to a tie for third place with Captain Hertzberg of Dartmouth. E. H. Lane, substituting for Brewster, started at a disadvantage, but managed to hold his own. Each of the Lanes lost five bouts. Boya, who was not up to his usual form, lost eight, five of them by a single touch.

In the duelling swords, Calloway, another Navy entry, fought his way to first place, with Barss of the University tied with Hunter of the Navy, last year's champion, for second. J. K. Watson '23 upset predictions when he defeated both Hunter and Calloway, but he lost too many other bouts to place. C. J. Shearn '23, substituting for Watson in the latter part of the tournament, lost but one of six bouts, and was able to defeat Riley, one of the strongest members of the Yale team