W. Fencing Finishes Regular Season In Style With 13-3 Win

En garde!

Harvard left no spectators on the proverbial fence last night as the women's fencing team convincingly dispatched Wellesley, 13-3.

As 100 years of Harvard fencing's founding fathers watched form their perches on the wall of the Malkin Athletic Center, the women posted a non-league victory in their season finale to cap the Crimson's overall record at 10-3.

In the Ivy League, the women finished second to the University of Pennsylvania suffering their only loss at the hands of the Quakers in an 8-8 meet decided on touches.

"The season went very well," senior co-captain Mayling Birney said. "We have a very strong team but half are inexperienced, so there were two factory: ability and experience. Since we have a very talented, capable team, I think we could've done better.

"At the same time, we held together well with our lack of experience. Not too many teams couldn't done as well as we did with half of the team starting as freshmen," she said.

Harvard's finish earns it a seed in the regional championships as a team, and the new blood of freshmen Victoria Dances and Sara Carsson help give the Crimson three representatives in the individual competition.

"It wasn't a bad season at all," Coach Branimir Zivkovic said. "The women fenced extremely well. We had a balanced team and that led to a successful season. We should be seeded number one, there's no question about it, and if we just keep fencing the way we have been, we should be OK."

Last night, Harvard struck down all comers, extending its winning streak to four. The Crimson dominated the meet, outscoring Wellesley 74-30 on total touches.

"We all fenced very well today," Birney said. "Usually at least one person is off, but today everyone fenced well. Some of our fencers have been having lows the last couple of meets, but that didn't show up today."

Danics led the way for Harvard, going 4-0 in the meet. The victories boosted her season total to a team leading 43-5. She finished first in the Ivy League individual standings at 14-2 and will compete in the regionals.

Senior co-captain Kristen Hughes posted a 3-1 mark against Wellesley to cap her final regular season. Hughes finished 12-19 overall and 3-10 in Ancient Eight competition.

Crasson ended her season with a 3-1 performance, boosting overall record to 38-12.

Her 12-4 finish in the league was good for fourth in the individual standings, and she will also fence for Harvard at the regionals.

"Since we've been in competition we can pinpoint the problems to focus on in training," Birney said. "We're really capable of getting through the defense with our technique, but we've been missing with our attack. We have to work on that."

The co-captain completed the assault for the Crimson, ending her regular season career with a 3-1 showing. Birney placed seventh in the conference this year, going 10-6 in the Ivy and 38-13 overall to end her career with a record of 143-48.

After qualifying for the NCAA's in her last three years with finished of 20th and 24th in each of the last two, her performance this season has earned her a spot at the regionals for the fourth straight year.

"The season as excellent," Hughes said. "We're looking forward to the regionals, where we think we have a great chance to do well. If you look at the competition, we've beaten everyone there except for [Penn]" which was a close loss on touches."