Steady Improvement Helps Fencing Foils Foes

Sometimes numbers do lie.

Although their records may a forgettable year, both the Harvard men and women's fencing teams enjoyed encouraging seasons in 1999-2000 .

Although the men's record (2-7, 0-5 Ivy) fails to show the accomplishments that it made this season, the Crimson improved steadily throughout the year, and some individual fencers even garnered national honors for their skills.

The men's team was composed of a relatively young, talented corps of players led by a new head coach, Peter Brand. The women (7-6, 1-4 Ivy) were not only working with a new coach, but they incorporated a new weapon--the sabre.

Men's Fencing

After beginning the season with a tough 14-13 loss to MIT, the results for the men's team would not improve dramatically during the season. The two lone bright spots for the Crimson were wins over cross-town rivals Tufts, 22-5, and Boston College, 15-12.

However, the Crimson was challenged by a very difficult schedule, with several contests against its counterparts in the Ivy League, which contains several of the top teams nationwide. In its last two meets of the season, Harvard fell just short of beating Princeton, 16-11, and Yale, 15-12.

"We gave Yale and Princeton, two of the strongest teams in the nation, close matches, and definitely surprised most with the strength of our young team," junior foil Mark Lee said. "With a new coach, we knew we would be experiencing rough spots along the way this season. But our spirit is definitely an important factor that has kept us fighting hard to win each and every meet."

Four of the most outstanding fencers for the young Harvard squad this year included Lee, junior co-captain epee Eugene Cha, junior foil Davin Chew and freshman sabre Scott Silver. Cha battled some of the top fencers in the nation valiantly, and his hard work allowed the Crimson to remain within striking distance of its opponents in most of its matches.

Losing no starters and only two seniors this year--epee Zack Levinck and foil Nick Rosenberg--Harvard looks toward a promising future.

"We are looking forward to improving on the promising year we had this year under the direction of our new head coach," Cha said.

Next year, Harvard will add even more meets and difficult teams to its already challenging schedule.

"We have the spirit to win a national title," Lee said. "Next year we will not be settling for close losses any longer. Only wins. Only titles."

Women's Fencing

The women's team, also under the helm of a new coach, took on a new weapon this year: the sabre. Adding the sabre to the women's team changed the number of starters on the foil and epee squads from four to three, and it also changed the format of competition. Rather than fencing each weapon's 16 bouts without interruption, the Crimson rotated and fenced three rounds in which each weapon fenced three bouts.

"We knew that it was going to be a huge building year for us," junior captain Elizabeth Aranow said. "We had to rely on a group of walk-ons who turned out to be amazingly strong and a real asset to the team. We came together as a multi weapons team."

On the year, women's foil had a superb season, and the epee proved strong, though not as strong as expected. In addition, women's sabre steadily improved throughout the course of the year.

The women also started their 1999-2000 campaign with a discouraging loss to MIT, 15-12. However, they immediately bounced back after the loss with a 19-8 thumping of Brandeis. Harvard tallied seven wins on the season, including Brandeis, Boston College, Cornell, Tufts, NYU, Wellesley and Johns Hopkins.

After enjoying a successful season this year, sophomore foil Emily Katz turned in an impressive showing at the NCAAs, placing 7th and garnering Second Team All-Ivy honors.

Looking toward next year is exciting for the Crimson. It is losing only two seniors--epee Skylar Byrd and sabre Christina Voros--and hopes to improve upon this season's results, with this year's experience behind them.

"Our main goal is to have more competitions," Aranow said. "With the change in coaching staff over the summer, scheduling didn't work so well this year. Next year, we will be in hot competition for an Ivy title."