Swordsmen Place 7th at IFAs

The Harvard men's fencing team placed seventh at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championships held in Queens, N.Y., over the weekend, advancing one fencer to NCAA competition.

Junior Jim O'Neill nabbed third place in individual epee competition, qualifying for the national championships to be held in South Bend, Ind., March 19-21.

The 13 squads entered in the two day tournament each fenced 108 bouts. Columbia captured first place with 80 victories, followed by Yale (76) and Princeton (72). Harvard finished with 53 wins, placing sixth in sabre, eighth in foil and ninth in epee.

"We fenced fairly well," Crimson Captain Kevin McCarthy said, "although we definitely could have finished better. The season's been tough all around."

The swordsmen finished with a disappointing 4-7 record (0-5 Ivy League), after notching an impressive 9-2 mark last season.

O'Neill qualified for nationals for the second consecutive year, finishing 6-2 in the final round. One of his losses came in a tough 5-4 bout with eventual champion Dan Nowosielski of Princeton. Penn's Chris O'Loughlin snagged second place.

McCarthy--one of four Crimson swordsmen to qualify last year--still has the opportunity to qualify for nationals despite his ninth place finish. The NCAA selects several non-qualifying IFA fencers for national competition, based on their personal records, IFA performance and team records. McCarthy finished with a 26-7 record on the season.

"It's all politics now," McCarthy said. "It depends on how they pick now."