Fencing Shines at ECAC-IFA Championships

Harvard fencing made history again this weekend with both the men’s and women’s squads winning the ECAC-IFA championships outright in all three weapons.

The Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) championship, which is the oldest collegiate championship event in America, boasts a unique format in which team trophies are up for grabs in all weapons.

Medals are also awarded to the top three fencers in each discipline.

The daylong competition, held in Providence, R.I., pit each school’s three top fencers against top fencers from 12 other universities. The school with the most victories earned the overall championship.

And against a field of Ivy League and ECAC opponents, Harvard stole the show. The men and women coupled individual success with team dominance in their first match since securing Ivy League titles two weeks ago.

The men won team championships in the saber and epee, and secured third place in the foil. Meanwhile, the women took third place in the saber, fourth in the epee, and first in the foil.

Individually, junior Tim Hagamen lead the way for the men, winning the individual saber championship. In a gutsy performance, Hagamen fought through injury to win the gold medal bout 15-5.

Sophomore Enoch Woodhouse’s and freshman Benji Ungar’s third-place finishes in foil and epee, respectively, capped off an overall successful day for the men.

On the women’s side, freshman Emily Cross and junior co-captain Chloe Stinetorf lead the way, finishing second and third in foil, respectively. Freshman Carolyn Wright’s fifth-place saber finish came at the hands of two Olympians-—Yale’s Sada Jacobson and her sister, Columbia’s Emily Jacobson.

Crimson coach Peter Brand recognized the importance of building momentum in preparation for the upcoming regional NCAA qualifying competition.

“The team came back with six trophies,” Brand said. “Overall, this was the best performance by a Harvard team in the IFA in modern times.”

This year marked the first time the women have won an Ivy League championship, and the first time the men have earned a share of the title in some 28 years.

And continuing their trend of firsts, this weekend’s victories mark the first time in Harvard’s history that both the men’s and the women’s squads have won the combined events of the IFA championships.

Next weekend’s NCAA regional qualifying matches will provide the Crimson with an opportunity to go over the top.

“Two years ago we were nowhere near where we are now,” Stinetorf said. “This year we finally have the right group of people and it is working out well for us.”

In the past, Harvard has not performed well enough in the NCAA regionals to send the maximum six men and six women to NCAA nationals, but Stinetorf is optimistic that this year will be different.

“It has been hard for us to compete against schools that send the maximum number of fencers,” she said. “Schools that qualify the maximum every year like Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame are tough competition. I think this year we have a good chance to qualify the maximum and compete with them at nationals.”