Fencers Rack Up Gold At IFA Championships

After wrapping up the Ivy League Championships last Sunday, the Harvard men’s and women’s fencing teams set off to compete in the IFA Championships in Waltham, Mass., in what may have been a preview of the NCAA Regionals next Sunday.

“[The IFA tournament] is a symbolic event, which historically was the national fencing championship before the NCAA,” Crimson coach Peter Brand said.

“It dates back more than 100 years. It’s essentially one of those beauty pageant events.”

The men sought to come back stronger after their defeat at the hands of Penn in the Ivy League Championships. Although they were yet again unable to top Penn, they finished the day in second place with a record of 59-28.

While the results of the saber squad (13-15) were not exactly ideal, the sound performance of the foil squad (21-8) and the first place tie by the épeé squad (25-5) helped alleviate some of the disappointment, as the team proved that it can still contend with the top programs in the Ivy League.

“This may have been the men’s best performance to date,” Brand said.

In the individual championships, senior Benji Ungar shined in the individual men’s épeé event, taking the win with a decisive 15-8 victory over Princeton’s Mike Elfassy.

Teammate freshman James Hawrot finished his individual épeé championships in 15th.

“I was very happy with the way I fenced,” Ungar said. “It was especially good, with qualifiers at the regionals next week for NCAA tournament.

“It’s a good position to be in, and hopefully I’ll continue to fence just as well.”

The other two members competing the individual men’s championships both finished in the top ten, with freshman Valentin Staller claiming sixth in the saber and sophomore Hao Meng finishing in seventh place in the foil.

After claiming the Ivy League title after defeating Brown and then Penn in the Ivy League Championships, the women’s fencing team came into the competition on Saturday looking to repeat its success at the IFA tournament and finish strong.

In each of the three individual events, the Crimson had a member place in the top three. The team finished in fourth place overall, posting a 60-38 record, although the team did not compete at full strength.

“The women’s team, which is even stronger than the men’s, posted a respectable performance today, considering the situation health-wise,” Brand said. “Their record did not reflect the injuries and illnesses that it has suffered.”

This did not stop freshman Caroline Vloka from taking the gold in the individual women’s saber.

Having been suffering from what was thought to be the flu, Vloka defeated M.I.T.’s Robin Shin, 15-6, to take the No. 1 spot before being taken to University Health Services, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

“She could not have performed any better than she did,” Brand said.

In the individual foil, junior Arielle Pensler tied for third, taking the bronze, while Anna Podolsky and freshman Shelby MacLeod finished eighth and ninth respectively.

In the épeé, Maria Larsson had to settle for second, as she fell to Columbia’s Neely Brandfield-Harvey in a fierce 15-13 bout.

All three squads competed well, with the saber squad having a 22-11 day, the foil squad posting a record of 22-10, and the épeé finishing the day 16-17.

Overall, the six-weapon team of Harvard took third place with an overall record of 119-66, only falling behind Penn and Columbia. While the teams may not have taken the first place victory that was in their grasp, they competed very strongly and kept fresh as they prepare to send several fencers to the NCAA Regionals at M.I.T.