Men's Fencing Takes Ivy Crown, Women's Team Finishes Second

­Hopping back and forth on the right side of the strip, Harvard junior foil fencer Jerry Chang waited patiently for his Princeton opponent to make his move.

After 20 seconds of waiting, Chang caught his opponent mid-lunge with an attack of his own, clinching the final point for the Crimson in a thrilling 14-13 win over Princeton and giving Harvard men’s team (11-3, 4-1 Ivy) a share of the Ivy League title.

Coming off a tough showing at the St. John’s invitational, the No. 4 Crimson women (11-5-1, 4-2) bounced back with a 4-2 showing, which was good enough for a three-way tie with Penn and the Tigers.

Sophomore sabré fencer Adrienne Jarocki continued her Ivy dominance with a pristine 18-0 bout record, while épéeist Isabel DiTella finished 15-3 to carry the team.

MEN’S FENCING

For the second time in the past three seasons, the fencing deities chose Chang to represent Harvard in the final match of the Ivy League Championship. And both times, the Mountain View, Calif., native has come through in the clutch with the final touch.

“Jerry is a very strong fencer in high pressure situations, and that’s not the first time he’s been in that spot,” said sophomore épéeist Alexander Eldeib, who was one of the first of Chang’s teammates to mob him immediately following the final touch. “We only won the Ivy title outright [in 2013] after he won the final bout against his brother at Penn.”

The situation was not the only aspect that was the same as two seasons ago, with the total bout score tied 13-13 on the final day of the championships. In this year’s edition as well, Chang began the final action with a beat-attack and finished with his arms in the air in celebration.

Though the final moment may have been Chang’s time to shine, it was a Harvard rookie who stole the show. Freshman Eli Dershwitz, who entered the weekend of Ivy competition with a 23-4 collegiate record, finished 15-0 to help lift the Crimson to its third straight year of at least a share of the Ivy crown.

“It was an incredible performance,” Eldeib said. “I think Eli really puts in a lot of time outside of practice…. He’s really good at going that extra mile and [at] getting that extra practice in.”

Eldeib had a noteworthy weekend of his own, finishing 11-4 in the épée division after a 10-5 appearance last season at his first career Ivy Round Robins. Rounding out the group of strong performances all around, junior co-captain Duncan O’Brien finished 10-5 with his sabré.

Coming into the final round of matchups, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and Penn were tied at 3-1. When the dust settled, the victorious Lions and Crimson came away with a share of the title for a second straight year with 4-1 records.

WOMEN’S FENCING

Led by Jarocki, the Crimson climbed its way towards the top of the leaderboard, but came up short in the win column, finishing second for the second-straight year. For a second consecutive season, Jarocki finished with a perfect 18-0 bout record against her Ivy competition, securing a guaranteed All-Ivy selection.

“I came into the weekend with the same mentality as last year looking for the same result,” Jarocki said.

The 2014 NCAA Individual champion and her sabré teammates cruised past the competition across the board, with Jarocki and co-captains Aliya Itzkowitz and Kara Lee finishing a combined 41-13 in the five matches over the weekend.

“Fencing alongside [Jarocki] brings up everyone’s level,” said sophomore foilist Liana Yamin, who finished 6-8 for the competition. “With her hard work and her talent, she’s completely deserving of [the recognition], and with the team, she always helps us to rally to win.”

Harvard employed a four-person rotating foil team in an attempt to match individual strengths with opponent weaknesses. The results were mixed, with Yamin, fellow sophomore Hali Nelson, and freshmen Hellary Zhang and MacKenzie Lawrence finishing a combined 29-25.

—Staff writer Caleb Y. Lee can be reached at caleb.lee@thecrimson.com