Fencing Foils BU and MIT in Triangular Match Saturday

Domination and finesse were the words of the day Saturday for the Harvard men's and women's fencing teams.

In a triangular match with MIT and Boston University at the Malkin Athletic Center, the men beat the Engineers, 15-9, before stomping the Terriers, 20-7.

The women fared just as well, stomping the Engineers, 15-1 and then crushing the Terriers in a 16-0 shutout.

"We fenced at a higher level than ever before," senior sabre specialist Charles Bertrand said.

"The bouts were really short," women's co-captain Mayling Birney said. "We took the initiative our selves."

Pregame Ceremonies

Prior to the meet, a ceremony was held in honor of MIT coach Eric Sollee '52, who is retiring this season. Saturday's meet was his last at the MIT helm.

Sollee was the captain of Harvard's 1952 fencing team. In appreciation of the friendly MIT Harvard rivalry over the years, Harvard Head Coach Ben Zivkovic presented Sollee with a Harvard Fencing t-shirt.

The Men

The men's team enjoyed success with each weapon.

The foil team won seven of its nine matches against MIT with a quick, aggressive style.

"I think that Harvard sabre fenced its most confident bouts today, and it showed in the score," junior Peter Tang said.

"Our strategy was to rush at them so they wouldn't have enough time to think," freshman Ed Kim said. "We surprised them."

Kim also thought that preparation made a difference in the team's fortunes.

"I came here at 10 a.m. to get prepared," he said.

The sabre specialists had a different strategy. "We coaxed them into attacking us, Bertrand said "We tried to think ahead and tried to control what they did,"

"We tried to make them do what we wanted them to do," senior Paul Legutko said.

This gave Harvard the advantage, Bartand indicated.

"It opened them up," Bertrand said. "We used fakes and feints to get touches."

The epee squad also enjoyed a good day.

"Our bouts were fenced a lot better [than in previous meets]," sophomore Paul Baez said. "There was a lot more intensity."

An individual stand-out was men's captain Kwame van Leeuwen, who enjoyed a perfect day against MIT, winning all three of his bouts by a score of 5-0.

The Women

The women were as dominating Saturday as they have been all season. "One thing we've been working on all season is being more aggressive, and we showed it today," Birney said.

The squad fenced this meet with one eye toward the future.

"Today, we built up our confidence, which is important going into Regionals," freshman Sara Crasson said.

Birney cited the incoming freshmen as one of the reasons for the team's success Saturday as well as throughout this season.

"We have three amazing freshmen [Crasson, Brindisi Chan, and Viktoria Danics], and they are the strength of the team," Birney said.

Birney did say the team must improve for the postseason.

"We were a little sloppy [today]," Birney said. "We would have a beautiful attack, then miss, and then get hit."

Nevertheless, Birney wasn't terribly concerned.

"Nothing was wrong with our technique or ability, but we must practice our point control more," she said.

Saturday's competition was the final regular season men's meet of the season. The women complete their regular season this Wednesday at Wellesley.