Minus Cross, Harvard Cruises

In some sports, any team can beat any other on any given day.

Fencing is not one of those sports.

When Tufts (3-4) came to face the Harvard women fencers (1-0) last night at the Malkin Athletic Center, it was a David versus Goliath, only in this version, David had no chance.

The Crimson easily defeated the Jumbos 24-3, besting last year’s 23-4 victory.

Annually the first head-to-head meet of the season, the matchup against the Jumbos always carries the tone of a warm-up.

“I pretty much expected that we were going to do well,” Harvard coach Peter Brand said, adding, “I think it was a good warm-up for the coming weekend at NYU, where we are going to have some really tough opposition. So this was a fairly good start.”

This season, even more so than in years past, the women needed the practice.

With the loss of junior foil fencer Emily Cross, the team boasts three freshmen in the weapon, all experienced in the national circuit, but not the college. According to Brand, this transition can be difficult, as they begin to compete not only for themselves, but also for the team.

“I didn’t know the college format,” freshman foil fencer Artemisha Goldfeder said. “So I was a little nervous about what exactly was going on.”

“It was really fun, I was a little nervous in my first bout, but after that, once you get the nerves out, it’s just fun,” she added.

And the foil fencers impressed.

Despite a few blips, including their only loss in freshman Anna Podolsky’s second bout, they posted a commanding 8-1 victory. Goldfeder and classmate Arielle Pensler won all three of their bouts convincingly.

“Technically they have a lot of experience, so I expect that they will progress fairly quickly,” Brand said.

The saber was the strongest weapon for the Crimson, which won all nine bouts, including a dramatic come-from-behind win from junior Alexa Weingarden, who was down 4-2 before posting three straight points.

“With our women saber fencers, there is one [freshman] who is doing very well, and the other three seniors are doing extremely well, and I expect they’ll do well this weekend,” Brand said. “They showed a lot of strength tonight.”

The epee fencers showed a few more signs of weakness, despite pulling through a 7-2 win.

Newly appointed captain Caitlin McLoon led the way, winning her first two bouts before being replaced by sophomore Elizabeth Bast, who faltered 5-4 after early frustration. The only other glitch came in the second set of bouts, in the form of senior Jasmine McGlade’s 5-4 loss.

“Experience does play a role here,” Brand said. “In the epee we have two very solid fencers at the top who were at the NCAAs last year, so they have a lot of experience.”

Up next, Harvard faces what may be its stiffest competition of the regular season. At the Saturday meet the squad will face four teams, the most daunting of which is perennial powerhouse Penn State. In last year’s meeting, the Crimson fell in a close 15-12 matchup.

But with the warm-up meet under their belts, the women are ready to face their toughest challenge.

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.