The Princeton men's fencing team improved to a mark of 3-1 after defeating Stevens Institute of Technology. The Tigers' 18-9 victory on Saturday was their home opener.
The Ducks were looking to play the spoiler at Princeton's first home meet, but for the second year in a row, Stevens Tech lost big to the Tigers.
"We are not going full speed yet, but the fencers did well against Stevens Institute," said head coach Michel Sebastiani.
The Ducks entered the contest with a four match winning streak and had not lost a bout since Nov. 9 of last year. Though not considered to be among the elite fencing schools in the country, Stevens Tech had reason to be confident heading into Saturday morning's dual meet.
During last season's clash between these two teams, the Ducks managed to secure a 7-2 victory in the epee competition, and then Princeton proceeded to win the men's foil by a score of 7-2. The teams were even heading into the sabre competition, but then the Tigers roared to an 18-9 victory on the heels of a perfect sabre record of 9-0.
This year's meet was close at times, but ultimately the men's foil team overwhelmed its counterparts from Stevens Tech with an 8-1 advantage.
The Tigers benefited from the strong performances of freshman standout Scott Sherman, who was 3-0 on the day, and sophomore Eric Stodola. Stodola was also undefeated on the day, earning three victories as well. Sophomore foils Ben Weber and Jon Jew-Lim each had a victory in the rout.
While Princeton ran away with the foil competition, the other weapons competitions were extremely close.
The Tigers barely edged the Ducks in the epee competition with a 5-4 advantage, as juniors Bill Beaver and Phil Nevels had a pair of victories each. Freshman Brandon Lafving competed in just one bout, but his victory proved to be crucial as Princeton narrowly defeated Stevens Tech's epees.
Likewise, the sabre competition was incredibly close as the Tigers again edged the Ducks with a 5-4 advantage.
Juniors Mike Brosterman and Ed Chou, along with sophomore Jim Leighton, each won a match for Princeton in the sabre competition. Sophomore Josh Younger garnered a pair of victories against Stevens Tech. The Tigers' entire sabre roster saw action in this contest.
In a rather unorthodox move on the part of Princeton head coach Michel Sebastiani, the Tigers used seven different sabres during the bout. The reserves performed well in the absence of the regular starters.
Notably absent from Princeton's roster were epees sophomore Soren Thompson and senior captain Matt Fitzgerald.
The Tigers are no doubt looking ahead to their next quad meet with national powerhouse St. John's, Ivy League nemesis Columbia, and in-state rival Rutgers. The meet will be at Columbia on Feb. 2, and should prove to be a real test for Princeton.
"The next match against St. John's is extremely serious, they are the reigning national champions," Sebastiani said.
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