Harvard Fells Ivy League Foes

It came down to the final duel on Sunday afternoon in Ithaca, N.Y. One team would lose the inside track for an Ivy title, while the other would poise itself to take a league crown next weekend. Both Harvard fencing teams accomplished the latter.

The women finished the weekend at 3-0 and ended Sunday with a 14-13 win over No. 3 Columbia, a team that was actually favored against the Crimson. With the score tied at 13 and one duel to go, senior Anne Austin, who had not lost a duel all afternoon, capped a 3-0 foil performance against the Lions en route to the victory. The win followed easier triumphs over Yale and Cornell in earlier action, by scores of 20-7 and 21-6, respectively.

“We all came out really strong,” Austin said. “It was a very good meet, everyone sent in their best, and we won by a considerable amount overall.”

Accomplishing its own weekend success was the men’s team, which made easy work of Yale and Columbia to emerge at 2-0 and as one of just two Ivy League teams, along with Princeton, to remain undefeated this season. Harvard took care of the Bulldogs by a score of 22-5, and also finished off the Lions, 16-11.

“We really beat them pretty well,” junior Tim Hagamen said. The saber trio of Hagamen, senior David Jakus, and junior Daniel Sachs went 3-0 in their bouts in beating Yale in the early matchup, while freshman Kal Itaneri-Kinter and sophomore Benjamin Unger each went 6-0 in foil and epee, respectively. As was the case with the women, it was the team’s performance against Columbia that was key to the weekend success.

“They’re sort of perennial favorites,” Hagamen said. “They’ve won a lot in the whole Ivy history, they’ve really dominated in the past, and the fact that both the men’s and women’s team beat them was really a great thing.”

Because Cornell does not have a men’s team, it provided an interesting venue for a dual meet.

“It was a good opportunity for the men to cheer us on from the sidelines,” Austin said. “Overall, it was a very strong competition.”

Sophomore foil Emily Cross went 2-1 on the weekend, as did senior foil Chloe Stinetorf. The tandem of junior Jasmine McGlade and freshman Maria Larsson was 2-1, helping the Crimson win that weapon against Columbia by a score of 5-4.

On the men’s side, the weekend’s wins set up a crucial match next Sunday in New York City. Sitting atop the Ivy League, Harvard could meet Princeton for the Ivy title next week—if the Tigers can take care of Yale and Columbia earlier in the day, and assuming Harvard beats Brown and Penn.

“Beating Yale and Columbia was a big step towards the Ivy championship,” Hagamen said. “Today was a big step towards the Ivy season.”

“It was a big upset for Harvard to win,” Austin agreed. “It was a great meet.”

—Staff writer Malcom A. Glenn can be reached at mglenn@fas.harvard.edu.